Will Medicare pay for Curves enrollment?
Hello Sandra, the following answer is taken from the web site www.caring.com and has been given there by Joseph L. Matthews.
“That depends on how you receive your Medicare Part B coverage, but in most cases the answer is no. If you are enrolled in traditional Medicare Part B, directly with Medicare itself, there is very little coverage for any kind of preventive or “wellness” care, and none at all for a gym membership or related fitness training.
If you get your Medicare medical coverage through a Medicare Part C Medicare Advantage HMO or other managed care plan, however, you might be able to get some coverage for membership in a health club or gym.Some, but not all, plans offer such coverage. Medicare doesn’t require any Part C plan to offer this kind of coverage, so whether a plan offers any, and what the terms are, depends entirely on the plan’s membership contract.To find out what plans are available where you live, you can go to the official Medicare web site’s Medicare Options Compare page.Once you’ve located the plans available in your area, you must contact the plans directly to find out what their coverage is, and to learn when they are accepting applications for new members.”
Note: Joseph L. Matthews has been an attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1971. From 1975 to 1977 he taught at the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of numerous books, including Social Security, Medicare, and Government Pensions; Long-Term Care: How to Plan and Pay for It.
Hi Sandra. Medicare coverage issues are continually evolving and things that weren’t covered in the past may be covered in the future or present. There is definitely a movement among health insurers to cover or provide some sort of benefit for preventive care nowadays – fitness included.
So, I say check directly with Medicare. Your local office is (should be) listed. Give them a call, tell them that you have a “coverage question” and ask the program person this direct question. I think that the passage cited by Karin above is a good start, but I would also advise that you get your answer “straight from the horse’s mouth.”
I hope that this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
[email protected]
