Carlos Bechara, MD
Vascular Surgery · Maywood, ILNPI 1639357585
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $129,690 of the $199,097 with a category attached, or 65.1%. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. at 45.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $60,327 and has fallen 86.1% since, to $8,365 in 2025. Among vascular surgery clinicians in IL with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 335 payments — averaging $594.32 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$91K
- Cook Incorporated$75K
- Penumbra, Inc.$17K
- Cook Medical LLC$11K
- Medtronic$1K
- Wilson Cook Medical Incorporated$1K
- plus $2K from 19 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$36,56818%
- Speaking & faculty fees$129,69065%
- Grants$2,9011%
- Travel & lodging$13,6407%
- Food & beverage$16,2418%
- Education$570%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 105 | $90,512 |
| Cook Incorporated | 41 | $75,283 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 32 | $17,400 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 92 | $11,304 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 24 | $1,339 |
| Wilson Cook Medical Incorporated | 1 | $1,240 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 13 | $527 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 7 | $439 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $148 |
| Viz.ai, Inc. | 1 | $138 |
| Inspiremd Ltd | 1 | $136 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $132 |
| GE HealthCare | 1 | $129 |
| Lemaitre Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $60 |
| Endologix LLC | 1 | $51 |
| Shape Memory Medical Inc. | 1 | $41 |
| Terumo Medical Corporation | 2 | $38 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Argon Medical Devices, Inc. | 2 | $28 |
| Stryker | 1 | $23 |
| Imperative Care, Inc | 1 | $23 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 1 | $22 |
| Artivion, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $18 |
| Amgen | 1 | $13 |
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.
- EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis$36,366
- Cook$30,336
- TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$19,390
- Product in Development$14,394
- Cook Medical Zenith$12,779
- Indigo System$12,268
- Cook Medical AFEN$12,150
- Zenith$11,695
- GORE VIABAHN VBX Balloon Expandable Endo$8,958
- Zenith Alpha$6,118
- GORE EXCLUDER Iliac Branch Endoprosthesis$5,040
- VIABAHN Endoprosthesis with PROPATEN Bioactive Surface$4,560
- RUBY Coil$4,241
- Cook Medical Thoracic$4,144
- GORE VIABAHN Endoprosthesis$3,990
- GORE TAG Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis$3,990
- GORE TAG Conformable Thoracic Endoprosthesis$2,981
- VIABAHN Endoprosthesis$2,608
- Cook Medical Aortic Intervention$1,309
- GUNTHER TULIP$1,200
How this compares
$199,097 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 170 vascular surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 35 | $417 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other vascular surgery in Maywood
- Michael SoultMaywood$104K
- Paul CrisostomoMaywood$95K
- Pegge HalandrasMaywood$33K
- Ruojia LiMaywood$12K
- Ross MilnerChicago$1.3M
- Sapan DesaiArlington Heights$1.2M
- Nabeel RanaPeoria$934K
- Atif BaqaiPark Ridge$567K
- Trissa BabrowskiChicago$292K
- Tejas ShahDowners Grove$213K
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.