Baljash Cheema, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Chicago, ILNPI 1427447036
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — grants (44.9%), consulting fees and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 47.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $8,564 and has fallen 99.5% since, to $46 in 2025.
Across 26 payments — averaging $713.93 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$9K
- Novo Nordisk$6K
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$3K
- Caption Health, Inc.$298
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$152
- Pfizer$81
- plus $67 from 2 others
Across 5 payments — averaging $10,734 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.
- Caption Health, Inc.$52K
- Pfizer$1K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$6,20033%
- Speaking & faculty fees$2,50013%
- Grants$8,33345%
- Food & beverage$1,5298%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 8 | $8,812 |
| Novo Nordisk | 4 | $6,253 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 8 | $2,899 |
| Caption Health, Inc. | 1 | $298 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 2 | $152 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $81 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $49 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $18 |
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.
- CAMZYOS$2,836
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$383
- LifeVest$131
How this compares
$18,562 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 56 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Illinois.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Illinois →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 50 | $58,041 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 30 | $48,020 |
| EliquisApixaban | 14 | $19,502 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 56 | $1,060 |
| Bumetanide | 23 | $1,002 |
| Spironolactone | 49 | $486 |
| Ezetimibe | 11 | $366 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 32 | $267 |
| Carvedilol | 39 | $117 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 14 | $111 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 28 | $85 |
| Trazodone Hcl | 13 | $11 |
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 | $81 | $19,50214 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 55th percentile of 56 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Illinois.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Chicago
- Jonathan RichChicago$327K
- Esther VorovichChicago$224K
- Jane WilcoxChicago$220K
- Manreet KanwarChicago$162K
- Jonathan GrinsteinChicago$128K
- Bow ChungChicago$86K
- Quentin YoumansChicago$75K
- Anjan TibrewalaChicago$58K
- Faraz AhmadChicago$36K
- Ike OkwuosaChicago$30K
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.