Before signing up for Weight Watchers, there’s one place you might want to look that has nothing to do with promo codes: your health insurance card.
Some health insurance plans offer discounts, reimbursements or even fully subsidized access to WeightWatchers. Others include broader wellness benefits that can potentially help pay for a weight-loss program like WW or Noom. And, just to make things sufficiently confusing, two people with insurance from the same company could have completely different benefits.
That’s because WeightWatchers discounts are often negotiated at the employer or individual health-plan level, rather than being a universal benefit offered to every customer of an insurance company.
So, yes, it is definitely worth checking. Just don’t assume the words “insurance discount” automatically mean you’re getting the lowest WeightWatchers price.
Weight Watchers insurance discounts: FSA HSA | Aetna | Anthem | Cigna | UNH | Blue Cross | Medical Mutual
Does Insurance Cover Weight Watchers?
Sometimes. Some health insurance plans cover, subsidize or reimburse the cost of a WeightWatchers membership, but coverage depends on your individual plan.
In fact, WeightWatchers has an online eligibility tool specifically designed to let you check whether your employer, health plan or organization offers WeightWatchers as a benefit. If it does, WW directs you to the appropriate enrollment page.
The benefit can take several forms.
Your plan might offer WeightWatchers at a reduced monthly price, reimburse you after you pay for your membership, give you wellness dollars that can be used toward weight management, or under some employer-sponsored plans cover the membership completely.
There is also another possibility worth checking: FSA or HSA reimbursement.
FSA or HSA Reimbursement for WeightWatchers?
Flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts are a great way to save money on wellness expenses. WeightWatchers says eligible members may be able to receive reimbursement for up to 100% of qualifying WeightWatchers expenses using available FSA or HSA funds, subject to the rules of their individual account. WeightWatchers currently requires you to pay first and then submit for reimbursement rather than paying directly with an FSA/HSA card.
Here’s what we found for several of the largest health insurers.
Aetna Weight Watchers Discount
Aetna members should check their plan’s health and wellness discounts before joining WeightWatchers on their own.
Aetna says eligible members can receive discounts on services including health coaching, fitness and nutrition-related products and services. These discounts are generally accessed by logging into the Aetna member website.
Some specific Aetna plans also offer fitness or wellness reimbursement programs, although eligibility and eligible expenses vary considerably from one plan to another.
I could not verify a current nationwide WeightWatchers discount automatically available to all Aetna members, so don’t assume your Aetna card guarantees one. Instead, log into your Aetna member account and look under Wellness, Discounts, Rewards or Fitness, or call the member-services number on your insurance card and specifically ask:
“Does my plan offer a discount or reimbursement for WeightWatchers or commercial weight-management programs?”
That wording can be better than simply asking whether WeightWatchers is “covered,” as the answer might not be a simple “yes” or “no.”
Anthem Weight Watchers Discount
Anthem currently advertises member wellness discounts that can include weight-loss programs, along with discounts for gym memberships, fitness devices and other health services.
However, the exact offers available depend on your Anthem plan and location.
If you’re insured through Anthem, sign into your member account and look for Wellness Programs and Discounts or your plan’s member discount section. Anthem also directs members of some plans to its SpecialOffers program for additional discounts.
Don’t be surprised if WeightWatchers is available with one Anthem employer plan but not another. These benefits can be negotiated by the employer, which is why your coworker may have a great WW deal while your neighbor also carrying an Anthem card doesn’t.
Cigna Weight Watchers Discount
Cigna has a wellness discount program called Healthy Rewards, which offers eligible members savings on various health and wellness products and services.
Cigna says Healthy Rewards can include discounts related to fitness, healthy eating, personal care and other wellness services, without requiring claims or referrals for the discount program itself.
The important caveat is that I could not verify a universal current WeightWatchers-specific discount offered to every Cigna member.
That means your best strategy is to log into your Cigna account and check Healthy Rewards for the weight-management programs currently available to your particular plan. You can also call the member-services number on your card and ask whether WeightWatchers membership qualifies for any wellness benefit, employer subsidy or reimbursement.
Offers can change, so your member portal is more reliable than an old list of Cigna discounts found somewhere online.
United Healthcare Weight Watchers Discount
UnitedHealthcare is particularly interesting because there are UnitedHealthcare plans that provide access to WeightWatchers.
WeightWatchers currently maintains a UnitedHealthcare-specific eligibility page stating that, based on your UnitedHealthcare insurance coverage, you may be eligible to sign up for WeightWatchers.
The word may is important.
UnitedHealthcare offers a huge variety of employer, individual, Medicare and Medicaid plans, so this isn’t a blanket free-WW benefit for everyone.
For example, certain UnitedHealthcare Community Plans have offered WeightWatchers benefits or vouchers to qualifying members.
UnitedHealthcare also operates its own weight-management program, Real Appeal, which is available to eligible members at no additional cost as part of certain health benefits.
So UHC members should compare all three possibilities: a discounted WeightWatchers membership, a fully or partially covered employer benefit, and any no-cost weight-management program already included with the health plan.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Weight Watchers Discount
This is the insurance company where the answer “it depends” really earns its paycheck.
Blue Cross Blue Shield isn’t one single nationwide health plan. It is a system of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies, and benefits can vary significantly between them.
Some Blue plans have offered very generous weight-loss reimbursements.
For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts currently says eligible members can receive up to $300 in fitness and weight-loss reimbursements, and specifically identifies online weight-loss programs such as WW as potentially eligible.
Many BCBS members can also access Blue365, a free member discount program offering deals on fitness, nutrition and other wellness products and services. However, Blue365 itself warns that availability varies among participating Blue companies and that its discounts are separate from your actual health insurance benefits.
So don’t search simply for “BCBS Weight Watchers discount.” Search for your specific Blue Cross Blue Shield company and plan, or sign into your member account and search for “WeightWatchers,” “WW,” “weight loss reimbursement” and “wellness benefits.” You could uncover a significantly better benefit!
Medical Mutual Weight Watchers Discount
Medical Mutual has one of the clearest WeightWatchers benefits we found.
Medical Mutual currently states that eligible members and covered dependents age 18 and older can receive almost 50% off a WeightWatchers membership through certain plans.
Its Medicare Supplement program similarly advertises savings of up to 50% off standard WeightWatchers membership rates for eligible members.
Medical Mutual has also operated specific employer programs with additional WeightWatchers benefits and reimbursement arrangements, so your exact savings can still depend on which Medical Mutual plan you have.
If you’re a Medical Mutual member, this is definitely a benefit worth checking before paying WeightWatchers directly. Log into My Health Plan and search the Healthy Living or wellness-benefits area for the current enrollment instructions and discounted rates.
Is Your Healthcare Discount Best?
Here’s the important and surprising part about searching for a Weight Watchers insurance discount:
Your insurance discount isn’t necessarily the best WeightWatchers discount.
WeightWatchers regularly runs public promotions for new and returning members. At the time we checked, for example, WeightWatchers was advertising a $10 per-month offer for 10 months with a qualifying membership commitment.
That could conceivably beat an insurance offer advertising something impressive-sounding like “40% off” or “50% off standard rates.”
The math matters more than the percentage. For example, if your health plan gives you WeightWatchers completely free, congratulations, you can stop comparison shopping.
But if insurance simply gives you a reduced monthly membership rate, take 30 seconds and compare it with the current WeightWatchers public promotion before enrolling.
Also compare the commitment period, enrollment fee, included plan and what happens after the promotional period ends. A $10 monthly promotional membership with a commitment could be cheaper overall than a supposedly exclusive healthcare discount, while an insurer reimbursement could make the healthcare option dramatically cheaper.
In other words, don’t choose the health insurance discount for Weight Watchers simply because the word “discount” is attached to it!
How to Find Your Weight Watchers Insurance Discount
The easiest place to begin is WeightWatchers’ own employer and health-plan eligibility checker. WW specifically allows you to search to see whether your employer, health plan or organization provides WeightWatchers as part of your benefits.
Then sign into your insurance company’s member portal and search for terms including WeightWatchers, WW, weight management, weight-loss reimbursement, wellness discounts and healthy rewards.
If nothing appears, call the member-services number on the back of your insurance card. Remember that you’re not necessarily looking for traditional medical “coverage.” Ask about discounts, wellness reimbursements, employer-sponsored WeightWatchers benefits and health incentives too.
Finally, compare whatever you find against WeightWatchers’ current public promotions.
A few minutes of detective work could turn up a deeply discounted membership, or even one your health plan has been willing to pay for all along.
Weight Watchers Insurance FAQs
Some health insurance plans offer WeightWatchers discounts, reimbursements or free memberships. Coverage depends on your insurer, employer and specific health plan. Also, the featured WW offer might save even more.
Some Blue Cross Blue Shield plans offer WeightWatchers discounts or weight-loss reimbursements. Benefits vary by your local BCBS company and individual plan.
Some United Healthcare members may qualify for discounted or covered WeightWatchers memberships. Eligibility depends on your specific UHC plan or employer benefits.
Some Aetna plans may include wellness discounts or reimbursements that can help with weight-management programs. Check your Aetna member benefits for current eligibility.
Some Humana plans may include wellness benefits, fitness discounts or weight-management programs, but a WeightWatchers discount is not guaranteed for every member. source
Yes, some Kaiser Permanente plans (like PEBB or OEBB) offer free or discounted WeightWatchers memberships, but availability varies by employer, region, and specific plan.
Possibly, but compare your insurance benefit with current WeightWatchers promotions first. A public WW offer can sometimes be cheaper than an insurer’s discounted rate.
Do you get a discount on WeightWatchers through your health insurance comany? Let us know with a comment below.
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I’m a dad of four, including 3 kids and a Hungarian Vizsla who is my partner about 22 hours a day. I’m a Philly sports fan and enjoy writing about wellness, saving money, and personal finance. Thanks for reading!