Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa

| IHRSA Report | In Brief
Public Policy:
Adding Value
to Your IHRSA
Membership
170 Club Business International | MARCH 2008 | www.ihrsa.org
Today, many health insurance companies provide incentives or subsidies
for their members who exercise regularly. Did you know that, in 1994,
it almost became illegal to offer such incentives? Thanks to the passage
of IHRSA’s Healthy Lifestyle Incentive Provision, such incentives remain
legal and are increasingly common.
Do you live in a state that has tried to tax health club memberships? Since 1997,
11 states and Washington, D.C., have filed 17 pieces of legislation to tax club dues.
How much money did your club save when the sales tax effort was stopped?
In a similar vein, have you ever wondered how your business would change if
it became illegal to automatically renew a member’s contract on a month-to-month
basis at the end of an annual membership?
These are just a few examples of how the IHRSA Public Policy Department is
working tirelessly to add value to your club, and to the industry as a whole, in
three main ways:
• Protecting the industry from harmful business regulation that could negatively
affect club owners’ bottom lines.
• Growing the industry by enacting legislation that will increase the size of the
exercising population.
• Promoting the industry as a critical part of the solution to the healthcare-cost
and obesity crises.
Much of the Public Policy Department’s work is done behind the scenes. In
2007, the department monitored more than 400 pieces of legislation at the state
and federal levels.
Some bills last year, such as those in Michigan,
Maryland, and Pennsylvania, would have
imposed a sales tax on health club dues.
These bills were defeated by major lobbying
and grassroots initiative advocacy campaigns
led by IHRSA.
In Maryland, for example, fitness professionals
from across the state took part in a campaign
that involved more than 900 health club consumers
and generated an astounding 14,839
e-mails to legislators. IHRSA worked closely
with its lobbyist in Maryland, as well as with a
coalition of concerned club operators who led
a petition drive; gave testimony at a hearing;
held a rally at the state house; and ran an ad
campaign in area newspapers. The work paid
off—the Maryland legislature responded by removing health club dues from its tax
package, and IHRSA’s efforts were highlighted in an article on Forbes.com.
Even with a staff of nine, the Public Policy Department is always busy. In 2007,
it increased IHRSA’s federal presence by opening an office in Washington, D.C. The
Washington team enables the association to more readily capitalize on the growing
attention to prevention and healthy lifestyles as key elements in the battle against
rising healthcare costs, to build strong partnerships, and to grow support for its
health-promotion initiatives, such as the Workforce Health Improvement Program
(WHIP) Act and the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Bill. These bills will
not only create incentives for Americans to exercise; they will position the fitness club
industry as a critical part of the solution to the healthcare-cost and obesity crises.
In addition to this ongoing work, IHRSA also counsels member health club operators
who face competition from tax-exempt fitness facilities, and is continually improving
its materials and guidance on this topic. —|
.org For more information about IHRSA’s public policy efforts and benefits to clubs, please visit www.ihrsa.org/publicpolicy.