ISO in 2023: A Recap

Since 1958, ISO Student Health Insurance has remained strong in their mission of insuring thousands of international students across colleges from every corner of the United States. Students have used ISO plans to have full access to health services in the U.S. while remaining highly cost affordable.

By listening to questions about health care, plan benefits, and valid concerns from our members, international student advisors, and prospective customers, ISO has been able to upkeep its services to accommodate the shifting needs of international students.

As of 2023, we put a lot of prospective ideas into action to bolster the international student experience in the U.S. Here is how ISO has been busy this previous year:

65 Years

The beginning of 2023 marked ISO’s 65th anniversary. From its humble beginnings as a non-profit organization for international student advice, ISO has grown to accommodate its goal of offering diverse health insurance plans for visa holders of all kinds.

To date, ISO has provided over $120 million in paid medical services, insuring over 3 million students from more than 2,500 schools. More information about our diverse and extensive history can be found through our blog.

UK Gold

While those living in the United Kingdom have access to free health care through a nationally offered health plan, the waiting times leave much to be desired. As of 2022, the National Health Service (NHS) reported average, non-urgent treatment wait times of as long as over 18 weeks.

ISO Gold was introduced as a solution to introduce peace of mind for those not wanting to compromise their health care with issues that could arise from a long waiting period. More information about our plans can be found on our UK website.

Infographics

Given the inexperience people have when using health care in the United States for the first time, we prepared visual guides breaking down concepts that would otherwise be a challenge to understand.

Topics span ideas that a member might have questions about, including learning The Importance of Health Insurance before deciding on a plan, seeing the differences between an Emergency Room and Urgent Care, and even understanding what to do when trying to visit a doctor.

A full list of infographics and other plan cards can be found in our library within the “ISO Flyers” tab.

ISO Essential Plan

Sponsored and in partnership with the New York State of Health, ISO is now offering unlimited health care benefits at no cost to international visitors and even residents within New York State. Known as the Essential Plan, members can enjoy 100% coverage for primary care, specialist, telehealth, dental, and vision visits, to name a few.

If you or a loved one you know is living in New York, at least 21 years old, and fits the qualifying eligibility for this plan, we recommend having them look at the brochure to see if this plan is right for them.

More plan information and eligibility can be found by visiting our Essential Plan page.

$20 Referrals

Coming across comprehensive health insurance plans that meet budgets of all kinds can be a challenge to find sometimes, which is why ISO recommends all members to invite their friends, dependents, and other loved ones to use our plans, and receive a $10 credit for any future purchases their invitee makes with us.

This last fall semester, we wanted members to feel a larger impact for bringing on new users to our plans. In doing so, we launched a temporary summer promotion offering $20 in enrollment credit for anyone they referred to ISO.

Without a limit for the number of people that could be referred, members were able to accumulate enrollment credits equivalent to as many members they brought in – the more you refer, the more you earned!

The excitement that this promotion built brought in thousands of new enrollments for our comprehensive and affordable plans. Given such a successful promotion, we hope more members will take advantage of any future referral-related offerings that we have in store!

NAFSA

Every year, ISO connects in-person with a large network international student advisors through a series of conferences hosted by NAFSA, an association that integrates and streamlines all international student experiences in the United States as seen through an advisor’s point of view.

With its first fully in-person conference since the end of COVID-19, NAFSA kicked off their 75th year in Washington D.C. The event was a large success and a wonderful opportunity to share ideas of global perspectives with several thousand educational advising colleagues in attendance.

NAFSA is also an ideal space to grow relationships with current advisors that we have connections to, while also fostering new ones. It also helps to put the situations many international students face about their health care when they first enter the U.S. into perspective, giving advisors new insight on how to handle these cases when they arrive in their schools.

Health Insurance

Above all, our plans remain the key focus for international students. ISO has spent the year catering towards helping new U.S. arrivals comprehend and make better decisions around the expensive state of American health care. We hope this understanding leads to smarter selection of their health insurance coverage and better education for its usage, especially as we round the corner into 2024.

For more details, you can find information about the comprehensive and affordable plans ISO offers on our website.