Jan 12
12
Medicare Plans Offering Fitness Memberships To Draw Healthier Patients
Bloomberg News (1/12, Frier) reports that “UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) and Humana Inc. (HUM) are among insurers offering fitness memberships with their Medicare programs as a way to draw healthier and less costly patients, said a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.” What’s more, “35.3 percent of new enrollees in a fitness membership benefit plan reported ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ health, compared with 29.1 percent in the group without the benefit.” Researchers expressed concern that “in doing so, the companies may try to ‘cherry pick’ members who are more likely to be healthy using the fitness memberships.” A spokesperson for Cigna, which “has a Medicare Advantage HMO plan in Arizona that offers a program that reimburses $200 for fitness classes,” countered that the goal is to help patients “improve their health, well-being and sense of security.” The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.