Seniors express frustration at Blue Cross Blue Shield decision to cut SilverSneakers program
Braving temperatures that hovered around 14 degrees, dozens of seniors gathered on Wednesday to make it clear they are not happy with their insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS).
"We are, I think, a sleeping Giant that's been poked," Terre Thomas said.
Thomas, 66, spent the past few days visiting YMCA locations throughout the area, organizing an outlet for the frustration that has been growing among seniors at these gyms for the past few weeks. In late November, BCBS announced that it will stop providing membership for Medicare Advantage recipients at YMCA of the North and Life Time gym locations in Minnesota starting Jan. 1, 2026.
YMCA locations in greater Minnesota will not be impacted.
It's a major change to the SilverSneakers program, a system which allows qualifying seniors to attend certain gyms with no out-of-pocket cost. According to a statement from BCBS, the insurance company needed to cut costs given the expectation that other expenses would go up in 2026.
"As we anticipate historic levels of Medicare enrollment growth following the UCare exit, our baseline costs are expected to increase significantly in 2026. Combined with the inflationary costs associated with offering the premier network of gyms, we had to make some hard choices to maintain coverage stability for our members," the statement reads in part.
BCBS is ultimately pointing the finger at another company called Tivity, a Tennessee-based company which acts as a go-between for BCBS and gyms. Tivity, according to BCBS, contracts directly with the YMCA and Life Time to set pricing.
"One of the many cost pressures Blue Cross is facing related to Medicare coverage is an enormous price hike from our Medicare fitness vendor [Tivity] to keep all current fitness locations included in the network available to our members," BCBS said in a statement posted to its website.
As of Wednesday evening, Tivity did not respond to WCCO's request for comment.
Thomas was joined by about 50 other seniors in the BCBS parking lot in Eagan. Those in attendance were annoyed that this information came in the middle of the insurance open enrollment period, leaving many without time to explore other insurance options. While SilverSneakers under BCBS allows members to attend around 600 other gyms in the Twin Cities metro, seniors WCCO spoke to explained that those facilities simply cannot match the kind of care and community tailored by the YMCA and Life Time.
"We are not going to go quietly in the night when things that are unfair happen," Thomas said.
Thomas said that she and her co-organizer met with a team from BCBS on Tuesday. She said it was a productive conversation, and does not want to "villify" the company, but said she was told little could be done to reverse the decision for the 2026 calendar year.
Joe Kroll, a senior at the rally who was not part of that meeting, believes the companies involved ultimately have too much money to make cuts to such a critical program.
"They can say whatever they want, but it's just not right," Kroll said.
Terrell Benton, senior vice president for operations for YMCA of the North, expressed that conversations with BCBS "died on the vine" on Nov. 21, the day that many seniors began to see emails from the insurance company explaining the situation. Benton confirmed that the YMCA is offering affected seniors a discounted rate on membership, though he expects there will be a drop in membership given the YMCA of the North serves about 7,800 people on the BCBS SilverSneakers program.
"We know that we're not going to lose all 7,800 of those seniors, but it's likely that we'll lose some. Quite honestly, to lose one breaks our heart," Benton said.
Benton declined to say what rate BCBS paid to cover membership for insurance recipients; BCBS did the same, with no one involved sharing how much money is being saved by cutting the program.
"Figure it out. The money's there," Kroll said.