Carlos Vaca, MD
Critical Care Medicine · Miami, FLNPI 1154437028
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 92.0% of the total across 165 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 16 manufacturers reported payments, led by AstraZeneca at 27.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $1,048 and has fallen 70.1% since, to $314 in 2025.
Across 165 payments — averaging $26.89 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$1K
- GSK$993
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$770
- Novo Nordisk$245
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$205
- Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC$185
- plus $810 from 10 others
Across 174 payments — averaging $16,956 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.
- Gilead$1.5M
- Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA$773K
- Cipla USA Inc.$599K
- AstraZeneca$39K
- Sanofi US Services Inc.$17K
- GSK$11K
- plus $23K from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,08392%
- Other$3538%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca | 32 | $1,228 |
| GSK | 46 | $993 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 43 | $770 |
| Novo Nordisk | 3 | $245 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 11 | $205 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 10 | $185 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $177 |
| Welch Allyn | 1 | $177 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $138 |
| Biotronik NRO, Inc. | 1 | $84 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 5 | $78 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $67 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 2 | $29 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $24 |
| Novartis | 1 | $20 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 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
$4,436 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 618 critical care medicine providers in Florida.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 150 | $173,607 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 87 | $122,285 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 91 | $76,042 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 24 | $37,133 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 34 | $36,004 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 11 | $18,882 |
| Omega-3 Acid Ethyl Esters | 121 | $18,608 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 13 | $17,372 |
| Breztri AerosphereBudesonide/Glycopyr/Formoterol | 18 | $15,055 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 40 | $14,541 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 158 | $13,290 |
| Celecoxib | 180 | $11,532 |
| Alcohol Prep PadsAlcohol Antiseptic Pads | 83 | $10,997 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 11 | $9,635 |
| Ketoconazole | 93 | $5,146 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $245 | $173,607150 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Breztri Aerosphere | $1,228 | $137,339105 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $993 | $76,04291 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $138 | $37,13324 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $67 | $36,00434 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $78 | $17,37213 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $20 | $9,63511 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 85th percentile of 618 critical care medicine providers in Florida.
Other critical care medicine in Miami
- Michael CamposMiami$70K
- Alexandre AbreuMiami$34K
- Daniel KettMiami$14K
- Louis GuzziOrlando$635K
- Fortune AlabiKissimmee$587K
- Debabrata BandyopadhyayTampa$398K
- Fred UmehKissimmee$371K
- Amit TandonWesley Chapel$338K
- Omid ZadOrlando$325K
- Eddy GutierrezJacksonville$315K
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.