If there was one silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the industry realizing the importance of not only political advocacy but also the importance of working as a unified force. Those two aspects were put into action at The Fitness Technology Summit Capitol Fly-In on October 23, 2023 in Washington D.C.
The event — coordinated by IHRSA — brought over 60 fitness facility operators and vendors to Capitol Hill in an effort to raise support for the PHIT Act.
“The PHIT Act is an old act that has new life,” said Kevin McHugh, the president and COO of the Atlantic Club. “I’ve been around PHIT for probably 11 years or so. I’ve never been more positive about what it can provide us in the near future. For me PHIT means something different. It means the health and fitness industry can really start being a part of the wellness industry, too.”
If passed, the PHIT Act would allow pre-tax flexible and health savings accounts (FSAs and HSAs) to cover physical activity expenses, effectively reducing the out-of-pocket expenses for American families and individuals for youth sports fees, health club dues, training costs and more.
Currently the bill sits at 57 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 17 in the Senate with support from both sides of the aisle.
Qualified expenses do not include private clubs owned and operated by members or clubs with golf, hunting, sailing or riding facilities. In the case of sports equipment — other than exercise equipment — reimbursement for a single item cannot exceed $250 and these pre-tax dollars cannot be used for general fitness apparel or footwear. The limits are capped at $1,000 for a single person and $2,000 for families per year.
“It used to be a very political issue, because HSA is renowned to be only for rich people,” said McHugh. “But what happened is since Obamacare and other high deductible plans and insurance companies, the amount of people who can now have an HSA is over 100 million people. When you take a look at that percentage of our entire population, it may not be perfect, but it’s very strong.”
The PHIT Act has been introduced in every Congressional session since 2005. It passed the House in 2018 but did not pass the Senate.
Right now, the PHIT Act is working its way through Congress. Chris Craytor, the CEO of ACAC Fitness and Wellness Centers and Welld Health, and the chairman of the Board of Directors for IHRSA, explained every time there’s a new Congress, the bill has to be reintroduced.
“It’s really difficult,” said Craytor. “You’re on these two year cycles of getting things introduced, hopefully passed and next year is an election season. Before the presidential election takes all the oxygen out of the room, we’re trying to gather as many sponsors for the PHIT Act as we can, and hopefully attaching it to a larger piece of legislation. The key is to get local support from your own congressional leadership. I certainly recommend reaching out to Mike Goscinski or Jeff Solsby from IHRSA and asked them how you can help.The more sponsors we have on legislation, the easier it is for the powers that be in the Senate and House leadership to attach that bill to the larger initiative that’s going to get pushed through.”
During the Fly-In, participants were divided into 10 groups led by lobbyists who were educated on the bill. The groups met with a targeted selection of 60 legislators who do not currently support the bill. Overall, participants left feeling hopeful and positive about the traction the bill is gaining. As the second Fly-In event, with more planned next year, the goal was achieved to help more people learn about — and hopefully eventually support — the PHIT Act.
“I think having an association — IHRSA — to represent all of us as business owners and operators is vitally important when things like PHIT come up,” said Craytor. “If we’re banded together and we’re a unified voice, it makes it much harder for people to say no to us on Capitol Hill. There’s a health club in every county in the U.S. and certainly in every congressional district. We’re a well represented industry. I think we just don’t do enough to promote our own voice. There are 60 million gym members. We’re talking about close to 20% of the U.S. population. We have a lot more power than we think, but we only can exercise it if we all get involved and unify.”
Here is a list of the current co-sponsors in the House: congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1582/all-info#cosponsors-content
And a list of the current co-sponsors in the Senate: congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/786/cosponsors
To learn more about the PHIT Act and how you can get involved, visit ihrsa.org/federal/personal-health-investment-today-phit-act/.
