Lifetime Fitness Hours Limited

[rt23921016]

As your Medicare Fitness Program Administrator may have shared with you, I am pleased to confirm that we have renewed agreements so members on eligible Medicare plans may continue accessing Life Time clubs as of January 1, 2024.

The new agreements were established based on the rate your provider is paying on your behalf and includes revised club access hours effective January 1, 2024:

• Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 2:00 p.m. to close.
• Sunday: all open hours.
• Note: Members will have continued access to all ARORA Aqua classes at any time with a reservation and club arrival within 30 minutes of the class start time.

[RG361135 · Accepted solution]

 This is still not right. Who is "I" as a contributor on this thread? I wrote a letter directly to the Chairman/CEO of LFT. He could not even respond to my letter. It is ridiculous. I was with LTF since it opened its doors here in N. TX. in 2003. I have no desire to pay them more money. We are not interrupting anyone working out at LTF. They do not have to spend any additional money to hire staff. It is just a money making idea. Look at the number of members they lost after the lockdown? All they are trying to do is increase revenue. This is still AGE DISCRIMINATION. This is STILL WRONG. 

[js8864]

Absolutely agree w you.

[js8864]

i absolutely agree that this is age discrimination. It is yet another way to marginalize seniors. It is demoralizing. The gym I go to is 1/2 mile from my home and it is never over crowded during the hours I am there. I also pay an additional $200 for Pilates classes. I will likely leave the club.

[SuzanneC850681]

This is so true. I went there today for the first time to attempt  my fitness goals.  I have Medicare/ssi due to my spinal cord was injured during a motor vehicle accident. I’m finally able to transition from physical therapy and be on my fitness journey. I feel like the word is so cliche but I felt so literally ‘marginalized’ by my experience today. I went during the required times and was excited to take an intro Pilates class and when I purchased my Pilates class pass and tried to schedule classes - let’s just say it was one of the worst experiences. No one deserves to be treated that way. The optics are unnecessarily giving weird cringy classism ageism racism whatever ism vibes and they really need to look at themselves and not mis-judge or group anyone who comes in into any category. They are walking a thin line. I’m still processing this one it turned out to be such a bummer experience. 

[WilliamB640938]

Personally, I don't think this is age discrimination but rather is based on the dollars that LFT gets per member through this program.  I have heard that as an AARP Medicare Plan member one can pay a reduced amount for all hour access.  If so, that seems fair to me.  Does anyone know if this is correct?

[js8864]

Yes it’s true if $1,200/year is a reduced price. Great senior discount … all of what Medicare pays + $100/mo. Oh wait … that is not a senior discount.

[JillS901961]

II don't know if the companies Medicare providers use for the fitness component of their plans are comparable. Our plan is an HMO with VIVA Medicare, but they use Silver & Fit to administrate the fitness component. In any case, my wife has been in LT's yoga program for a dozen years, and the classes she has the most community with are partially off limits now. So, we upgraded her "Medicare" membership to "Medicare Signature" just today. $100/month is the additional fee. The club rate for the "Signature" membership is $179, and the "Over 65" membership is $159. The club is four blocks from our house, and her AMD has affected her driving, so going elsewhere wasn't an option. Anyway, that's one piece of data for your question.

[JillS901961]

Another piece of data that is troubling is that LT in our area has four tiers of memberships, one of which is the "65 Plus Membership" which has full club access, minus a few things. If LT is asking us to pay $100 to upgrade to their most expensive membership, it seems they are getting $79 from Medicare. If we were given the option to upgrade to "65 Plus" the additional payment would be $40 instead of $100.

[JanieG612542]

LTF has nice facilities - which is important when you mostly swim.  However, being a mega-corporation, it's easy to spot that the LTF contracts are 'all about the revenue'.  The restricted hours are based on data regarding demographics.

Sales now must be impacted, because the parking lot is a problem.  On top of that our location in Northern CA is hosting a Pro Pickleball tournament which is taking over EVERYTHING, including half of the parking lot for merch sales, food, etc....for the next 5 days.  This does NOT benefit the local membership!

As a swimmer, I use the outdoor pool only - which a problematic with the mid-day hours and the worry of skin-cancer issues.  It was triple-digit heat today and the pool is not being scheduled correctly - as staff kick us out of lanes because of summertime youth programs.  The pool was down in the spring for at least 2 weeks for repairs.

I don't mind sharing / sharing lanes, and enjoy meeting new people...but the club DOES NOT make swimming a priority because it emphasizes tennis, pickleball and the indoor work-out systems.  LTF doesn't seem to even understand how to run the pool schedules correctly - and it seems the staff are hamstrung by the corporate culture. It would be so nice if they could discuss needs on an individual basis.  Looking for another pool for at least the next couple of months / summertime....OR, maybe I can fold towels?   LOL.  😉

[RaulD660572]

You don't want LTF to make money?

They are there to sell, and you decide if you want to buy.

If you can get better value, you go elsewhere.

It makes sense for a business, e.g. LTF to conduct market research,  i.e. "your demographics comment", and adjust.

By the way pickle ball is very popular.  The local membership signs up for tournament too.

I do kind of get your issue with the pickleball.  I use to hate seeing basketball tournaments , LEAGUES, take over the basketball court.

Most were outsiders. I could not take my kids in there.

We could not participate, not big or good enough.  

Now with pickleball anyone can participate.