I’ve been lured with free stuff. The entitlement generation. I’ve never paid much attention to “Silver Sneakers,” and wasn’t sure if I was supposed to have it or not. But after 10 years on Medicare, they finally sent me a card—probably because the price of my policy has gone up. The theory is, if Seniors stay healthy, then we’ll cost the insurance company less. I’m guessing it is more like, if you’re already healthy, you can use this perk—free passes to exercise facilities.
So this morning I went to the one closest to my house Metro Fitness and tried out 2 machines, but only for a total of 15 minutes. I’m nursing a sore hip (bursitis) so I don’t want to do anything to aggravate it. I did the treadmill for 10 minutes and a reclining bike with a back rest for 5. It had all the digital bells and whistles where I could enter my age, weight, check my heart rate, calories, distance, etc.
There are also “free classes” for seniors daily. There were chair aerobics today that I looked in on. One facility further away has a whirl pool and other goodies, but I don’t want to drive another 3 miles in the morning traffic. I have an exercycle at home and am using a free program on the internet having cycled 139.2 miles since Dec. 26 and lost 10 pounds (not from exercise because that doesn’t do it, but from not eating my favorite snacks, desserts, having wine with dinner, and sandwiches at lunch). I’m also in an exercise class at church that is about $1 a session. I could also walk around the condo grounds or the block for free. Yes, I’m on the government dole.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank the rest of you taxpayers for a perk that costs much more than if I had a private membership the way the other people using the facilities do.
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6 comments:
The $30 the CMS pays the Y each month for my use of the SS program is less than the annual fee to the Y.
In Columbus a senior membership at the Y is $29/mo. Silver Sneakers is a very good deal for exercise clubs and facilities.
And some of those exercise clubs are owned by small business women and men. Some are also rehab facilities who just open their doors to public memberships also, but the monthly fee is much closer to $50 a month than $29. If you saw some of the 80 and 90 year olds that participate in these programs you might be a little kinder.
Gracious! What did I say that was unkind? The government is paying for healthy seniors to exercise. Is that unkind? Really ill people can't do it.
Really unhealthy people indeed. Mary, age 94, was at the Y, in the pool with the rest of us. Three weeks later someone said, Mary died. Was she healthy, or unhealthy??
I don't get your point. Mine is that fit seniors, as Mary was, can take advantage of Silver Sneakers, and it's a good deal for them and the insurance companies. All the seniors I see at Bethel are fit. Unfit seniors don't join, so the benefit can't help them.
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