Absalom Hepner, MD
Nuclear Cardiology · Mission Viejo, CANPI 1205880994
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (59.5%), food and beverage and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Edwards Lifesciences accounts for 63.1% of it on its own, with 23 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $5,929 and has fallen 86.2% since, to $816 in 2025.
Across 184 payments — averaging $47.17 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Edwards Lifesciences$5K
- Novartis$445
- Boston Scientific$428
- Pfizer$393
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$378
- Merck$310
- plus $1K from 18 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$5,16059%
- Travel & lodging$80%
- Food & beverage$3,50040%
- Education$110%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Edwards Lifesciences | 6 | $5,480 |
| Novartis | 22 | $445 |
| Boston Scientific | 13 | $428 |
| Pfizer | 58 | $393 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 19 | $378 |
| Merck | 14 | $310 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 11 | $261 |
| Amgen | 11 | $261 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $111 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 4 | $107 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $87 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 3 | $49 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $47 |
| Abbott | 2 | $42 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $36 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 2 | $34 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 1 | $24 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $24 |
| Bayer | 1 | $23 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $17 |
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.
How this compares
Too few nuclear cardiology providers in Californiato place this figure against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 18 | $637,804 |
| EliquisApixaban | 421 | $478,043 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 272 | $290,757 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 128 | $162,817 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 113 | $132,934 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 85 | $92,023 |
| Repatha SyringeEvolocumab | 69 | $54,740 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 39 | $51,044 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 92 | $46,053 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 33 | $31,801 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 28 | $31,192 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 29 | $27,140 |
| VerquvoVericiguat | 18 | $20,098 |
| Ezetimibe | 421 | $13,247 |
| Icosapent Ethyl | 72 | $12,640 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerVyndamax, Eliquis | $393 | $1,115,848439 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $36 | $290,757272 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $445 | $162,817128 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $47 | $92,02385 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $261 | $51,04439 claims |
| MerckVerquvo | $310 | $20,09818 claims |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.Nexlizet | $40 | $10,95524 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. There are too few nuclear cardiology providers in Californiaon file to place this against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
Other nuclear cardiology in Mission Viejo
- Ramin EbrahimiLos Angeles$542K
- Teresa DanieleFresno$45K
- Christopher OhSalinas$17K
- Howard LewinLos Angeles$5K
- Victor GabrielianArcadia$4K
- Ankit RathodFresno$2K
- Arjun SharmaSacramento$1K
- Kusai AzizVisalia$326
- Thomas WattersSan Mateo$17
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.