Does Blue Cross Blue Shield Cover a Gym Membership?

Blue Cross Blue Shield is 33 independent companies, Anthem among them, so the answer is per company and per plan. What is consistent across the system is Blue365, the members' discount program, whose gym offer is Fitness Your Way: a discounted membership at a network of gyms, not a payment for one. On top of that, Anthem runs a gym reimbursement on some of its plans, and Anthem's Medicare plans include SilverSneakers. None of it is coverage in the medical sense.

Fitness Your Way, run by Tivity Health, is sold to Blue Cross Blue Shield members through Blue365 and to federal employees through the FEP. It is tiered by which gyms you can use: a digital-only tier at $7.99 a month, then Base at $19, Core at $29 and Power at $39 a month for progressively larger sets of gyms, and Elite at $129, Pro at $159 and Signature at $199 a month, each adding one premium club as your home gym. There is a one-time $19 enrollment fee, waived for family members and the digital tier, and some Blue365 offers waive it outright.

The honest comparison is against the gym's own price. At the Base and Core tiers the network undercuts most mid-market clubs; at $129 and up you are paying the network to join a premium club you could also join directly, and the club's own promotion can be the better deal. Check which tier your gym sits in before assuming the discount is real.

Anthem's member pages describe it simply: you can get money back when you meet the minimum number of gym visits, at a qualifying fitness center in the US that offers regular cardio, flexibility and weight-training programs. You claim it with a Fitness Center Member Verification form, downloaded from the Health & Wellness Center in your Anthem account, and you need a new form each year or when you switch gyms. The amount and the visit minimum are set by your plan, which is why Anthem's public page gives neither; look for them in your benefits booklet.

Anthem states that its Medicare Supplement plans and most of its Medicare Advantage plans include a SilverSneakers membership, which gives a basic membership at participating gyms and community centers at no additional cost, plus online classes. Other Blue plans decide for themselves; the plan's Summary of Benefits names the program (SilverSneakers, Silver&Fit or One Pass are the usual ones) or doesn't.

Anthem also describes a gym allowance on some of its Medicaid plans for members 18 and over with an obesity or diabetes diagnosis. That is plan- and state-specific; your Medicaid plan's handbook will say.

Whatever your plan does, two routes don't depend on it: a Letter of Medical Necessity can make the dues a qualified expense for a health savings account or a flexible spending account, and what the gym itself charges is the number any reimbursement is measured against.