What is Silver Sneakers & Does Medicare Cover It?

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senior woman working out

Silver Sneakers is a unique fitness program designed for seniors. The program provides access to various kinds of physical and wellness activities. Taking part in physical activities can prevent falls as it will improve strength, flexibility, and balance this age group.

Studies show that senior individuals that take part in physical activities are able to recover quickly from illnesses and reduce the risk of various diseases.

The purpose of the article is to give an overview and highlight the benefits of Silver Sneakers. You will learn what is offered and how it can help seniors have a better opportunity to improve their health.

What is Silver Sneakers?

Silver Sneaker represents a holistic program offering free access to gyms and fitness centers across the country to eligible older adults. Individuals can take part in different types of physical activities including cardio, strength training, yoga, and water aerobics.

The program is free for senior individuals with a Medigap and Medicare Advantage plan.

The aim of this program is to motivate seniors to participate in physical activities. Moreover, the program offers socialization opportunities to senior individuals for their wellbeing. Providing access to fitness centers helps to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle to improve their quality of life.

Eligibility Criteria

Members can join the Silver Sneakers program if they are 65 or older. There is generally no health restriction to be a member of Silver Sneakers. But you should check with the physician before taking part in a fitness program.

You can visit the Silver Sneakers’ website to learn more about the eligibility criteria. Additionally, you can talk to a healthcare advisor to know more about the requirements for enrolling into the program.

Benefits of Silver Sneakers

The Silver Sneakers program offers various benefits. It improves the strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular health of senior individuals. This help in reducing the risk of slip and fall injuries. Moreover, enrolling in the fitness program helps in reducing the risk of diseases including heart disease and arthritis.

Taking part in the fitness program also boosts cognitive function and improves mood of senior individuals. Further, this program can enhance interaction with others and fight off feelings of loneliness and isolation that seniors are often faced with.

Program participants often comment on feeling more energized, sleeping better, and enjoying a greater sense of wellbeing. The benefits of the physical fitness program are also backed by studies that show increased physical activity leads to improved health, reduced healthcare costs, and overall improved quality of life.

Types of Classes and Activities

Silver Sneakers offers a wide range of fitness classes and activities that cater to many interests and abilities. Participants can opt for traditional gym exercises, specialized classes, and even online workout programs.

Senior individuals can take part in Yoga for flexibility and balance, swimming for low-impact cardiovascular exercise, and strength training to help maintain muscle mass and bone density.

Fitness classes are normally tailored to senior individuals’ different levels of fitness. This flexibility allows individuals to work at their own pace that suits them the best.

Silver Sneakers Locations

Silver Sneakers has many gyms, fitness clubs, and other facilities located throughout the US.  This includes national gym chains like Gold’s and 24-Hour Fitness, local community centers, and YMCAs.

You can use the Silver Sneakers websites location finder tool to find a participating location near you. You must enter the zip code or city to find a fitness center near you. This tool will present a list of all gyms and fitness centers that you can enter using the membership card.

Besides physical locations, Silver Sneakers has also started live and on-demand online classes on their website and mobile app. This is useful for those located far away from the available fitness centers.

Silver Sneakers and Medicare Advantage Plans

Silver Sneakers are often included as a benefit in many Medicare Advantage plans offered by private insurance companies. These plans often offer additional benefits beyond original Medicare, including vision, dental, and hearing coverage.

In order to verify whether your Medicare Advantage plan itself provides Silver Sneakers benefits, you can check out the Medicare Advantage plan documents, call your insurance provider, or visit the Silver Sneakers website.

If your plan does not offer Silver Sneakers, you can switch to another Advantage plan that does during the next annual enrollment period or a special enrollment period if available.

Other Medicare Plans and Silver Sneakers

While Silver Sneakers mostly seems to focus on providing its services within Medicare Advantage plans. Some other Medicare plans might also feature fitness benefits.

Medicare supplement plans were created to help cover some of the out-of-pocket expenses associated with original Medicare. However, these benefits may also include fitness programs such as Silver Sneakers.

In some cases, Medicare Supplements will provide certain forms of reimbursement or discount pertaining to gym memberships or fitness classes. You must know the difference between different Medicare plans to know if a Silver Sneakers membership is included.

Conclusion

Silver Sneakers help seniors improve their health and well-being through physical activity. The program very widely and provides fitness classes and activities at various locations across the United States.

If you are interested in learning more about Silver Sneakers, you can reach out to an experienced healthcare agent from The Health Advisors. Their knowledgeable team can answer any questions you may have and guide you through the process. You can contact them today for more information.

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