8 May 2017
URGENT NOTICE TO REVOLUTION’S BUPA MEMBERS
This is to inform you that health fund BUPA will cease their coverage of Pilates services under the Living Well Programme as of the 1st June 2017.
We advise you to claim any Pilates sessions you haven’t supplied to them for rebate prior to this date. Email or contact the Front Desk so we can organise your Booking History for any unclaimed visits.
BUPA will also cease rebate for Yoga, Gym and Swim services, as they were also covered under the Living Well Programme.
BUPA’s Questionable Reasoning
BUPA have cited the following reasons for cancelling the Living Well Programme:
- BUPA members have provided feedback stating that the current procedure for them to claim Pilates (under the Living Well Program) was arduous and time consuming.
- BUPA also claims that Members are not using the benefit, ie. that not a lot of people are claiming rebates for the services that fall under the Living Well Program.
Regarding Point 1, rather than change their procedures to make it easier for their members to claim, BUPA has used this feedback to cancel the entire program.
Point 2 insinuates that Pilates isn’t a popular or in-demand modality. We at Revolution and the APMA think differently, and from discussions, emails and calls we have received, we are confident you feel the same way.
What am I doing?
Our professional body, the Australian Pilates Method Association (APMA), is currently preparing a proposal for the review board of BUPA, the people who are capable of making decisions and changes at a management level.
What can YOU do?
As frustrating as this seems, it is a common, annual procedure for health funds to change and update provider standards as well as the services they provide rebate for. And as a member of BUPA, you have the ultimate power of feedback to make changes.
We need to:
- Show BUPA that Pilates IS important and that we help so many people with The Method.
- Let them to know that their members (you) do want rebates on Pilates services.
- Remind them of what Pilates Practitioners do in a Pilates studio and that APMA-recognised Practitioners go through rigorous training to provide the gold standard of Pilates in Australia.
Easy Peasy…Here’s the letter!
We have prepared a draft of a letter informing BUPA of their poor decision and a request for review. Simply open the link and copy-and-paste to your own email. There is room at the bottom of the draft to add your name and member number; please be sure to do so, as BUPA is most likely to listen to their members. You are free to draft your own letter addressing similar concerns. If so, be sure to use the email address noted in the template and send it to the “Provider Operations Manager”.
Let’s band together as a community!
We believe this matter is as important to you as it is to us. If you are a BUPA member, then it most certainly should be important.
I urge you to send this notice to BUPA. Let’s make them sit up and listen.
Neil
