Insurance Claim

Obesity is the biggest factor in the cost of health care in the United States, add $ 190000000000 health care bill annual country.

Regular exercise can go a long way to prevent obesity, and up to 30 minutes, once or twice a week can make a difference. 2009 Gallup Healthways well-being index found that people who do not exercise have a 35 percent chance of injury to obesity, and those who exercised 30 minutes a day or two a week, and probably down to 28 percent.


Can join Gym will help you build a regular exercise program and weight loss, which leads to lower health care costs. But will the health insurance plan covers your gym membership of your own? In some cases, yes, at least partially.

Health coverage for a gym membership

A health care provider operating in New England, Harvard pilgrim health care, insurance and provides $ 150 per year for compensation obligations because they are members of the gym for at least four months. There are some restrictions on coverage, but: You must be equipped gym with strength training equipment and cardiovascular such as treadmills and elliptical trainers and weight machines, but this is not true for yoga or Pilates studio, bathroom facilities only or personal training.

Aetna offers discounts Gym membership with most plans, says Ethan Slavin, a communications officer at Aetna. This year, Aetna is also a reimbursement program for fitness, which is open to a number of health care plans sponsored by employers. Besides gym membership, members can get a repayment plan to buy home exercise equipment, and group counseling and wellness. Employers are able to implement the program and determine how much money employees are entitled to compensation for expenses related to their physical fitness.

For employers, and this program can help employers reduce health care costs and create a more productive employees involved," said Susan Kosman, head of nursing Aetna. "This program is a concrete way that employers can show their employees that they are committed to their care."

If you are 65 years old or more, you must also be eligible for the Silver Sneakers program through your plan or Medicare Supplement. Silver shoes is a national health program for the elderly that offers free gym membership and wellness counseling attend gym more than one million registered members.

The benefits of the gym to help health insurance providers

What is the gym membership is a plus for health insurance providers, including: use of advertising in their marketing materials, insurance providers tend to be a healthy segment of the population, which will lead to claims rates to attract low.

According to England Journal of Medicine, and members of the Plan Medicare Advantage, which provides the benefits of physical fitness more than 6 percent more likely to self-determination as "excellent" or "very good" health, compared with those who did not.

And, by encouraging policyholders who exercise regularly, and insurance providers tend to reduce the frequency of these members to the claim of chronic diseases and conditions, by reducing health care costs. Found the analysis conducted by the Institute for the study of aging that Shoes Silver members who go to the gym for an average of 1.4 times a week, every insurance providers saved their $ 1,018 a year, compared with a control group did not participate in the program.

3 ways to save money on fitness

Despite the obvious benefits to cover expenses related to fitness in health insurance plans, not all suppliers jumped on board. However, there are a number of other options for factoring Gym membership in a limited budget:

1. Considered in the calculation of the FSA.

Spending Account flexible, known as the FSA, you can bring up to $ 2,500 in income before tax year to pay for a wide range of services related to health that are not covered under the health insurance plan of your listed services Chiropractic, and services, vision and prescription medicines. FSA funds to pay for fitness programs, provided that the doctor "letter of medical necessity" that would help explain what has been written untreated membership.

You may be able to open an account FSA through to find out if you qualify lunch. Unfortunately, if you are self-employed, you are not eligible for FSA.


2. Learn more about employee wellness program options.

Even if your health insurance provider does not compensate for the costs directly related to fitness, your employer. Many employers provide a large gym membership prices and other benefits-related fitness as part of wellness programs for their employees: Review your company's human resources department, or search for your company name GlobalFit.com see whether the company has a discount program.


3. Aims to provide financial assistance or special offers.

While most of the gym is a for-profit entities, and some health clubs are not-for-profit, including YMCAs, Jewish community centers, and provide options membership sliding scale for individuals with low incomes. You can also find many of the athletic club membership or low-cost fitness classes to sign up for the "deal" as compilation of daily newspapers. It is worth paying attention to the positioning of the local gym so that you are aware of other special offers.