You've probably noticed the following statement on many of our web pages. 

√  Please Check In Every Time You Attend A Class Or Group Activity. This data is needed for insurance reimbursements and is used in grant applications, space planning, and determining programming.

Here’s why checking in is so important. 

The very most you will pay in 2025 — for a FiftyNorth Platinum membership that includes all fitness and lifelong learning classes, group fees, and other center amenities —  is $70/month. Most FiftyNorth members pay much less than that — $0 to $43/month. 

How? Thanks to the provisions of health insurance plans that subsidize membership in fitness organizations in order to promote the health of company policyholders.

Needless to say, the reduced rate you pay does not cover the full costs to FiftyNorth of providing the programming you enjoy. (Membership dues only cover 30% of our operating costs, as a matter of fact.) 

So, what enables FiftyNorth to make up the difference? Donations, investments, grants, estate gifts, sales revenue from the Used-a-Bit Shoppe and the Popcorn Wagon, assistance from the City of Northfield — and insurance reimbursements, another one of the benefits of your health insurance plan! 

To encourage their customers to exercise regularly, many health insurance companies pay organizations like FiftyNorth $3.80 every day (up to ten days a month) that their policyholders check in for a wellness-related activity. If you are diligent about exercising – and checking in every time you do so! – this adds up to close to what your unsubsidized membership would cost you. For example, if you are a Blue Cross of Minnesota policyholder:

                  $124     What you pay in 2025 for a reduced-rate Fitness Plus membership 
                  $456     What FiftyNorth receives if you check in ten times a month for twelve months
                  $580     The full-price cost of a Fitness Plus membership

Unless you check in at the kiosk or the front desk, though, we have no way of verifying your visit and therefore receive no reimbursement. 

By checking in for fitness activities, you not only reap the benefits of exercise and social interaction, you also take full advantage of what you are paying for your health insurance — and you enable FiftyNorth to continue providing its services to you and to other adults 50 and older in Northfield and surrounding communities.

[Note: The health insurance details noted below are subject to change. Only by calling your plan's Customer Service line can you be sure of your coverage and use provisions.]