Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is dropping its Medicare fitness benefit, a spokesperson confirmed Dec. 31 to Becker’s.
A spokesperson for the insurer said it reevaluates its Medicare benefits “to ensure our products are competitive and remain financially stable.”
“We recognize fitness benefits support everyday wellness, which is why traditional gym access has long been part of our Blue Advantage products,” the insurer said in a statement. However, even after transitioning from the SilverSneakers program to a FlexCard fitness allowance in 2024, the insurer said utilization was still low.
“This underuse and increased medical costs were key drivers for removing the allowance,” which will officially discontinue Jan. 1, the insurer said. “While fitness benefits are meaningful to some, they’re often underused — and maintaining them adds costs that affect all members. As healthcare costs continue to rise, we’ve made thoughtful changes to focus on medical services that are utilized by the broadest set of our members. This change was necessary to keep premiums and out-of-pocket costs for core medical benefits stable.”
The Better Medicare Alliance and Avalere Health previously found individual plans offering fitness supplemental benefits have been on the decline. While using SilverSneakers, BCBS of Minnesota shared plans to drop membership coverage for two gym chains in 2026.
BCBS of Alabama said its Blue365 product still provides discounts on gym memberships.
