.avif)
This week, the fitness industry showed Washington what organized looks like.
From June 8 to 10, the Health & Fitness Association brought 130 industry leaders to Washington DC for its 2026 Fly-In and Advocacy Summit. Owners, operators, franchisors, and supplier partners sat down for more than 110 meetings across Capitol Hill, all carrying the same message: physical activity belongs at the center of America's preventive health strategy, not on the margins of it.
Replify is a proud member of the Health & Fitness Association, so we want to break down what happened, why it matters for the operators we serve, and why we believe every fitness business should be paying attention.
What was on the table
The Fly-In is not a photo op. It is a working summit where industry leaders meet directly with members of Congress and their staff on specific policy priorities. This year's conversations centered on a few big ones.
The PHIT Act. The Personal Health Investment Today Act would allow Americans to use pre-tax dollars from health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts to pay for gym memberships, fitness equipment, and youth sports. For operators, that is a direct affordability lever. The number one reason members cancel is cost, cited by 34% of former members in The Fitness Membership Divide study (Q1 2026, Datagonist/FIT-C). PHIT would effectively discount every membership in America by the member's tax rate, so it attacks the industry's biggest churn driver at the policy level.
Medicare and CMS engagement. The industry made the case that physical activity programs deserve a seat in how Medicare approaches prevention. With healthcare costs rising and chronic conditions driving the majority of spending, fitness operators are positioned as part of the solution rather than a lifestyle expense.
Affordability and access. Beyond PHIT, the conversations covered HSA/FSA access broadly and long-term healthcare cost reduction. The throughline: 37% of American adults currently hold a gym membership at a median of $85 per month, and 26.5 million former members say they are likely to rejoin. Policy that lowers the cost barrier converts those rejoiners faster than any marketing campaign could.
The states are already moving
Federal advocacy gets the headlines, but the HFA's state-level work may matter even more to a multi-location operator's bottom line. Last year the association engaged with roughly 1,000 pieces of legislation across all 50 states and won 50 fights against harmful bills, including a California proposal that could have cost operators in the state an estimated $70,000 each.
States like Pennsylvania and California are seeing real movement on pro-fitness policy, so the Fly-In carried that momentum to the federal level. When an industry wins in the states first, it walks into Washington with proof instead of promises.
Why Replify is an HFA member
Replify builds AI receptionist and sales technology for gyms, health clubs, and fitness studios, trusted by Gold's Gym, UFC Gym, SWEAT440, F45 Training, FS8, and more. We spend every day inside the operational reality of this industry: phones ringing during peak hours, leads going cold overnight, front desk teams stretched between the floor and the phone.
That work gives us a clear view of something the Fly-In delegation told Congress directly. Fitness operators are not just running businesses. They are running the most scalable preventive health infrastructure in the country, and they are doing it with thin margins and lean teams.
The HFA fights for the conditions that let those operators succeed: fair regulation, affordability policy like PHIT, and recognition that a gym membership is a health investment. We joined because our mission depends on theirs. Replify gives operators time back and captures the revenue that slips through missed calls and slow follow-up, but no software can fix a policy environment that treats fitness as a luxury. The HFA can.
You can read more about our membership on our Health & Fitness Association partnership page.
What operators can do
You do not need to fly to Washington to move the needle.
Join the HFA. Membership funds the advocacy work above and connects you to the policy intelligence that affects your state.
Know your state's docket. Auto-renewal rules, click-to-cancel regulations, and total-price legislation are live in statehouses right now, and they directly shape how you sell and bill memberships.
Tell your story. Legislators respond to local operators. A gym owner explaining what a policy means for their members and staff carries more weight than any trade association statistic.
Show up next year. The Fly-In happens annually, and the room keeps growing. This year it was 130 leaders. There is space for you in the next one.
The bigger picture
The Health & Fitness Association closed its recap with a line worth repeating: this industry is organized, and it is ready to be the solution Congress needs for the nation's physical inactivity crisis.
We agree. The $128.4B fitness market is not just an economic engine, it is a public health asset, and this week 130 leaders made that case in the rooms where policy gets written. Replify is proud to stand with them.
Replify is an AI receptionist and sales platform for gyms, health clubs, and fitness studios, trusted by Gold's Gym, UFC Gym, SWEAT440, F45 Training, FS8, and more. Book a demo to see how leading operators automate service, sales, and billing.
.avif)
