Blaine Borders, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Calhoun, LANPI 1326101254
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (54.6%), other and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Medtronic accounts for 75.7% of it on its own, with 10 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $2,507 and has fallen 61.3% since, to $971 in 2025.
Across 147 payments — averaging $43.12 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$5K
- Silk Road Medical, Inc.$994
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$188
- Cardiovascular Systems Inc.$149
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$63
- Inari Medical, Inc.$47
- plus $100 from 5 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$75612%
- Food & beverage$3,46255%
- Other$2,12033%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic | 119 | $4,797 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 8 | $994 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 5 | $188 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 4 | $149 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $63 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 2 | $47 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 2 | $42 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $17 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $12 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 1 | $12 |
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
$6,338 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 75 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Louisiana.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Louisiana →
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 | 23 | $17,743 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 124 | $572 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 42 | $154 |
| Diazepam | 13 | $5 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Calhoun
- Richard GitterMetairie$1.5M
- Emily CassidyBaton Rouge$1.3M
- David AllieLafayette$666K
- Vern KellerLafayette$394K
- Aditya BansalNew Orleans$140K
- Daniel BecklesLake Charles$80K
- Nicholas LeblancBaton Rouge$70K
- Sarah AhmadMonroe$58K
- Imtiaz KhanBaton Rouge$42K
- Robert DewittAlexandria$38K
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.