Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota meets with Silver Sneakers protesters

Alarmed at the prospect of losing their Silver Sneakers senior gym memberships at YMCAs and Life Time Fitness locations across the Twin Cities more than protestors took their concerns to the corporate headquarters of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota in Eagan to demand full reinstatement of their Medicare Advantage fitness benefits They were met with a receptive audience explained Terre Thomas who co-organized the chilly Wednesday afternoon protest with Steve Brandt a former Star Tribune reporter and elected member of the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation The two were invited by Blue Cross to relocate the -minute picket which featured a brief but coordinated step-tap dance number from a grassy easement The protest was held instead in the more expansive Blue Cross parking lot off Yankee Road Thomas and Brandt had met the day before with Dr Mark Steffen chief healthcare officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota alongside the insurer s marketing sales and Medicare Advantage staff Thomas reported the group walked them through a timeline of events that helped shape their understanding of the situation There were a lot of people at the rally that revealed this is all about corporate greed Thomas explained I don t think that s true It s math What they stated is we want to listen to you and let us explain the numbers to you Gym benefit Through a two-year contract with third-party benefits administrator Tivity which is based in Tennessee Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota this year had offered Silver Sneakers gym memberships to all of its Medicare Advantage members Of that number up to members had signed up for free gym memberships at Lifetime Fitness and YMCA of the North locations throughout the Twin Cities through what Tivity defined as its premier level of arrangement Only about seniors were current participants at those sites Thomas mentioned she was explained but the contract was priced per head as the benefit had to be made available under the law to all members By June Thomas commented Blue Cross Blue Shield had largely determined what benefits it would offer next year only to later learn that UCare the state s nonprofit fitness plan would terminate all of its Medicare Advantage contracts by While a great number of UCare members will shift to Medica several to UCare members have revealed their way to Blue Cross Blue Shield unexpectedly increasing the Eagan-based insurer s total number of Medicare Advantage members well above The cost of covering Tivity s premier level of facility had already increased considerably before new members were added Blue Cross Blue Shield bureaucrats stated Thomas Probable work-arounds Thomas revealed she presented with Blue Cross Blue Shield with various possible work-arounds aimed at subsidizing or otherwise negotiating affordable memberships at the YMCA and Life Time Fitness Representatives with the insurance provider commented the earliest any of those could be implemented would be The YMCA has offered Silver Sneakers members impacted by the UCare and Blue Cross Blue Shield situation discounted rates of per person down from and per couple down from Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage members may still access more than alternate gym sites throughout the Twin Cities as well as Life Time and YMCA sites outside the metro though plenty of boutique gyms and nursing home-based facilities offer limited hours do not have swimming pools and host just a handful of senior classes per week Related Articles Shredded cheese sold in dozens of states recalled due to probable for metal fragment contamination What to know about the hepatitis B shot and why Trump personnel are targeting it A hidden vitality problem following natural disasters Mold development in homes Delayed care to Black pregnant women highlights maternal physical condition disparities Health leave applications opening for Minnesotans who welcomed a child in The evidence of the wellbeing benefits of exercise cannot be overstated noted Dr A Mark Fendrick a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan whose research specializes in the healthcare insurance marketplace Every inquiry of cognitive vitality to to cardiovascular healthcare to cancer survivorship to mental vitality shows regular exercise improves outcomes Fendrick stated More is unfailingly better