Christopher Vargo, MD
Vascular & Interventional Radiology · Austin, TXNPI 1215955224
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $629 of the $854 with a category attached, or 73.7%. 12 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 38.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $414 and has fallen 80.0% since, to $83 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for vascular & interventional radiology clinicians in TX, where the typical reported total is $3,471.
Across 29 payments — averaging $29.45 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$329
- Inari Medical, Inc.$95
- Johnson & Johnson$89
- Boston Scientific$63
- Lemaitre Vascular, Inc.$56
- Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.$55
- plus $167 from 6 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $37,075 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.
- Biocompatibles, Inc.$37K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$22526%
- Food & beverage$62974%
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(2 entities) | 7 | $329 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 2 | $95 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $89 |
| Boston Scientific | 3 | $63 |
| Lemaitre Vascular, Inc. | 4 | $56 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 3 | $55 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $41 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 3 | $40 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 2 | $26 |
| GE HealthCare | 1 | $24 |
| Guerbet LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $16 |
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
$854 in reported general payments places this provider in the 15th percentile of 299 vascular & interventional radiology providers in Texas.
See all vascular & interventional radiology providers in Texas →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prednisone | 18 | $22 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other vascular & interventional radiology in Austin
- Michael JaimesAustin$93K
- Preston SmithAustin$18K
- Orlando DiazHouston$611K
- Rahul ShethHouston$410K
- Miguel MonteroHouston$386K
- Joshua KubanHouston$301K
- Peiman HabibollahiHouston$254K
- Ahmed Abdel AalHouston$147K
- Varshana GurusamyHouston$141K
- Sanjeeva KalvaDallas$128K
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.