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SilverSneakers

A program that may help

 pay for fitness programs

.....
Healthways SilverSneakers® is a program that helps people pay for fitness center memberships.  The SilverSneakers program is offered as a health benefit to people who are enrolled in certain Medicare health plans.  Eligible health plans include some group retiree programs and some Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans. According to the SilverSneakers website, 11 million people are eligible, about 20% of Medicare recipients.  

If you are a member of an eligible Medicare health care plan, SilverSneakers will pay for a basic membership at one of over 13,000 fitness locations across the United States.  The exercise locations include places like fitness centers, tai chi or yoga classes, and walking groups.  


You can look at the SilverSneakers website to see if you are eligible.  Go to this page and follow the instructions.  Or, if you don't want to check online, call your health care plan’s customer service office (the phone number is probably on your Medicare supplement insurance card) and ask them if Silver Sneakers is one of your benefits.  


If you are a Medicare enrollee, it’s worth checking to see if you are eligible.  It might save you some money and you might learn about fitness programs near you that you were not aware of.

For example, I asked a friend to review this website.  After reading about Silver Sneakers she decided to call her Medicare supplement insurance plan. She told me that it took about 3 minutes to learn that she was indeed eligible for Silver Sneakers and that her health insurance would pay for her membership at her local YMCA.  So she drove to the Y to see what the membership would include.  They were pleased to enroll her.  She found out that they have two pools, large gyms, and a variety of programs including a long list of Silver Sneakers and Active Older Adult classes that she is going to try.  

 My brother found that his Medicare insurance programs pays for a membership at
​ 24-Hour Fitness, a large national chain.