Aaron Hesselson, MD
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology · Ashland, KYNPI 1053344945
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (47.8%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 15 manufacturers reported payments, led by Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. at 54.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $4,801 and has fallen 72.7% since, to $1,311 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for clinical cardiac electrophysiology clinicians in KY, where the typical reported total is $16,637.
Across 75 payments — averaging $120.37 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.$5K
- Abbott$1K
- Biotronik Inc.$852
- Medtronic$561
- Atricure, Inc.$451
- Biosense Webster, Inc.$355
- plus $856 from 9 others
Across 1,267 payments — averaging $285.97 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- Biotronik Inc.$149K
- Cvrx, Inc.$91K
- Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.$80K
- Abbott$34K
- Medtronic$8K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$2,50028%
- Travel & lodging$2,21425%
- Food & beverage$4,31448%
General payments by program year
Who reported the general payments
Companies are grouped under their corporate parent — a single manufacturer often files under several CMS reporting entities. Research and ownership payments are counted separately and are not in this table.
| Company | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 12 | $4,872 |
| Abbott | 9 | $1,081 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 11 | $852 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 6 | $561 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 3 | $451 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 5 | $355 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 9 | $334 |
| Philips North America LLC | 2 | $198 |
| Pfizer | 11 | $152 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 2 | $49 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $45 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $17 |
| Novartis | 1 | $16 |
What the payments were tied to
Products named in the reported payments. Only payments of $100 or more are attributed here — the typical reported payment nationally is a meal worth about $16, and listing those product-by-product would be noise.
- OPTIMIZER$9,421
- Acticor 7 VR-T DX$368
- Cardioblate$177
- ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM$172
- EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX$159
- (9124) LM Undivided$135
- AVEIR$132
- LifeVest$127
- Carto 3$123
- EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYS$120
- ATRICURE ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION$120
- Acticor$109
- Edora$109
- BioMonitor$109
- Solia$109
- Rivacor$109
- Micra$104
How this compares
$9,028 in reported general payments places this provider in the 25th percentile of 57 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Kentucky.
See all clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Kentucky →
Medicare billing
What this is not: this is the amount Original Medicare Part B allowed for services this provider billed in 2024. It is not their income. It excludes Medicare Advantage — now more than half of all Medicare enrollment — along with Medicaid and all commercial insurance, and it is gross practice revenue before staff, rent, supplies and malpractice premiums. CMS also suppresses any figure covering ten or fewer patients, so low-volume providers appear smaller than they are.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 331 | $324,446 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 97 | $103,969 |
| Dofetilide | 89 | $11,450 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 129 | $4,560 |
| BystolicNebivolol Hcl | 16 | $3,341 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 72 | $3,155 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 120 | $2,333 |
| Mexiletine Hcl | 28 | $1,991 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 89 | $1,165 |
| Propafenone Hcl | 18 | $1,083 |
| Digoxin | 21 | $769 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 58 | $414 |
| Warfarin Sodium | 16 | $159 |
| Carvedilol | 24 | $146 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 11 | $85 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $152 | $324,446331 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 25th percentile of 57 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Kentucky.
Other clinical cardiac electrophysiology in Ashland
- Basel EdrisAshland$45K
- Amarbir BhullarAshland$33K
- John VanderenAshland$19K
- Pratap SinghAshland$14K
- Ola KhraishaAshland$4K
- Johan AasboLexington$451K
- Rajdeep GaitondeLouisville$404K
- Jeffrey StidamLouisville$196K
- Gery TomassoniLexington$196K
- Kent MorrisLouisville$187K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Billing: Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, data year 2024. Original Medicare Part B only.
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.