August may be summer recess for the U.S. Congress, but for IHRSA, the Global Health & Fitness Association, it offers an opportunity to launch a grassroots campaign urging co-sponsorship of the PHIT Act of 2023 (H.R. 1582/S. 786).
The PHIT Act would allow Americans to use their Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) to pay for gym memberships, fitness equipment, and youth sports fees.
The campaign will activate IHRSA members to send five pre-written messages to their members of Congress and key staff members urging them to co-sponsor the bill.
It also will get health club members to participate through a consumer-targeted one-click campaign. IHRSA will support the consumer campaign with a resource page, including promotional flyers and social media graphics that clubs and studios can use to push representatives to act.
“Americans have been able to use their HSAs and FSAs for other health-related expenses, so now it’s time to expand that to gym memberships, fitness equipment, and youth sports,” said IHRSA's Vice President of Government Affairs Mike Goscinski. “The PHIT Act will do that, resulting in greater physical activity that not only benefits children and older Americans but also increases military readiness and helps improve mental health.”
The campaign will focus on a different topic each week—beginning July 31—all tied back to the need to pass the PHIT Act
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Week 1 PHIT Act Overview: The first week educates the audience about the benefits of the PHIT Act.
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Week 2 Youth Physical Activity: During this week, the campaign focuses on how the PHIT Act can help reverse the decreased activity levels of American youth since the pandemic.
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Week 3 Older Americans Physical Activity: The campaign shares how the inactivity of older Americans is leads to preventable chronic diseases.
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Week 4 Military Readiness: The campaign offers stats about how physical activity affects military readiness.
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Week 5 Mental Health: In the last week, the campaign highlights physical activity’s impact on mental health.
“We welcome anyone interested in supporting the PHIT Act to join in and share this campaign,” Mike said. “The few clicks and posts required to participate in this campaign will result in a low-effort, high-impact benefit to health clubs and studios, their members, and the American people.”