Are they offering it free because these gyms know the usage patterns of Medigap recipients and the extra load on their facilities is pretty low?
The gyms do get paid per visit, when someone with Renew Active scans their membership card. And earlier this year, the Metropolitan YMCA in the Washington, DC, area stopped taking Renew Active. I have no evidence to support it, but I blame pickleball, which has lots more oldsters using these facilities.
At Lifetime Fitness, a swanky chain, starting this year they limit Renew Active members to only certain non-peak hours, like the middle of the day on weekdays, Saturday afternoons, and all day Sunday.
Places like Yoga Six or Orange Theory give you a set number of classes per month.
Planet Fitness gets you membership at only one location. You can join as many as you want, but if you're traveling, for example, you can't use your PF membership to visit a different location--you have to actually get a membership there, which is free but a hassle.
I haven't joined 24-Hour Fitness yet, and don't know what their membership structure would be. However, I can say that at Crunch and LA Fitness/Esporta, group classes like yoga and Les Mills classes that are available free to members are included in the Renew Active membership.
One advantage to Renew Active is that you don't have a contract, so you can quit going any time without having to pay a penalty, or fight about cancelling your membership. Sure, you'll keep paying the delta on your supplement premium but it
could be used at another gym.