Insurance plans and other organizations that include or subsidize gym membership

[Query]

Many fitness centers are expensive to join or take classes from. You can often join for less through another organization. E.g., health insurance companies, employers, and some other organizations. E.g., see

SilverSneakers (on some Medicare supplement or advantage plans)
Silver&Fit (on some Medicare supplement or advantage plans)
Active&Fit (on some insurance plans, and other organizations)

(If you know of any others - please list.)

It is sometimes cheaper to sign up for the insurance than to join privately. I plan to pick my next health insurance plan based partly on that.

With some, you can go to any of the facilities they cover at different times - it's like joining many gyms.

BTW, I think most private fitness centers negotiate on price if you push - or they have discounted plans they don't tell you about unless you appear uninterested after hearing the initial price. Some facilities have major discounts for low income people and/or seniors. Some governments let low income people and/or seniors join government subsidized facilities and classes at a discount.

Many colleges and universities have highly discounted class prices for senior citizens. (BTW some professors let seniors do informal audits for free.) Sometimes that gives you access to their recreational facilities, which often aren't busy in early mornings, and/or to their libraries.

There are also cheap gyms, which I have listed here.

[Query]

I found a few more multi-gym plans and gyms - see link above.

Wouldn't it be cool if the major skating organizations let members join one of those plans? It would cost too much to buy everyone in the organization a membership, but I think some of the plans let the member choose to join for a fee.

[dlbritton]

I have a Medicare Advantage plan that lets me go to as many different gyms as I want. I have to register at each gym but access is free to me. According to my local YMCA they get paid for each visit I make up to their monthly senior rate. The Y is 5  blocks from my house and I mostly swim so I go there. An out of town rink I was going to pre-Covid/ pre-Medicare has a fitness center and pool in addition to the rink, and I would "sneak" into the fitness center to do a 10 minute warm up before getting onto the ice. Now I can "legally" use the fitness center and may see how swimming laps after skating for 90 minutes goes. I try for 1200 yds in 45 minutes at the Y but that would definitely be too much after skating.

My wife has a Medicare Supplement with Silver and Fit. She has to enroll each year and pay $50 annually. She is limited to one gym at a time but can switch gyms during the year.

[Query]

Cool. But I just discovered that the advantage plan I joined, doesn't include the fitness plan that I understood plan documents to imply, and which implication was one of the main reasons I joined it. It turns out the fitness benefit inclusion for their plans differs from state to state.