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The note from the Pritikin PR rep was enticing: Luxurious days at a Miami spa, and "qualifying guests can have their trip covered by Medicare."

I was certainly curious -- if ineligible -- so I contacted the rep, who was promoting the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa's 35th anniversary, to find out more. What I learned is that Pritikin spa visits for , which is similar to cardiac rehabilitation programs covered regularly outside the spa.

Patients are covered by Medicare for one stint in cardiac rehab, at Pritikin or elsewhere, per "heart event" such as an acute myocardial infaraction or a stent. According to the Pritikin spokesperson, roughly 6% of spa goers received Medicare reimbursement since the program started in 2010. And "covered" doesn't necessarily mean "completely covered:" On average, Medicare covers roughly half of the $9,300 bill for the two-week treatment.

In principle, the program is good because of its emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and legumes -- similar to the Mediteranean diet, said , a cardiologist at UNC Heart and Vascular in Chapel Hill.

But there's a key difference beyond the diet.

"It also emphasizes daily aerobic exercise as part of the overall diet plan," Campbell told MedPage Today. "By promoting these types of diets we stand to see a substantial cost savings. For that reason I believe that well-supported, well-supervised diet programs should be covered by insurance plans such as Medicare."

Clearly, your patients should trade for a .

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