Don Chomsky, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Nashville, TNNPI 1598719536
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (35.5%), consulting fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 21 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 56.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $12,979 and has fallen 88.0% since, to $1,552 in 2025. Among cardiovascular disease clinicians in TN with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 174 payments — averaging $209.93 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$21K
- AstraZeneca$14K
- Abiomed$654
- Boston Scientific$332
- Cvrx, Inc.$297
- Medtronic$199
- plus $912 from 15 others
Across 41 payments — averaging $2871.70 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.
- Abbott$118K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$12,50034%
- Speaking & faculty fees$12,95035%
- Travel & lodging$870%
- Food & beverage$10,99030%
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 | 109 | $20,528 |
| AstraZeneca | 20 | $13,605 |
| Abiomed | 8 | $654 |
| Boston Scientific | 3 | $332 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 4 | $297 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 4 | $199 |
| Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $134 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 1 | $124 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 1 | $115 |
| Bayer | 1 | $106 |
| Novartis | 4 | $67 |
| Merck | 3 | $65 |
| Amgen | 4 | $60 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $57 |
| Ancora Heart, Inc. | 2 | $47 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 2 | $39 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $24 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $18 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, 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.
- FARXIGA$13,304
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$13,089
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$3,044
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device$711
- CARDIOMEMS$702
- Impella$575
- CardioMEMS HF System$443
- HeartMate$309
- Envarsus$268
- Barostim Neo System$214
- WATCHMAN Access System$173
- Xience Xpedition coronary stent system$156
- Xience Sierra Coronary Stent System$154
- Mitra Clip system$132
- HeartWare HVAD$126
- 2ND GEN CENTRIMAG PRIMARY CONSOLE$125
- FFRct$124
- Watchman$119
- BRILINTA$118
- Tandem Life Kit$115
How this compares
$36,527 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 429 cardiovascular disease providers in Tennessee.
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 | 446 | $511,337 |
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 14 | $312,730 |
| EliquisApixaban | 215 | $234,862 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 161 | $151,679 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 130 | $128,192 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 43 | $40,865 |
| Tacrolimus | 80 | $21,226 |
| VerquvoVericiguat | 18 | $19,197 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 16 | $16,910 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 63 | $15,918 |
| Sirolimus | 32 | $14,731 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 11 | $12,864 |
| Sildenafil Citrate | 11 | $8,612 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 308 | $4,949 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 301 | $4,945 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerVyndamax, Eliquis | $24 | $547,592229 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $67 | $511,337446 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $57 | $151,679161 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $13,605 | $128,192130 claims |
| MerckVerquvo | $65 | $19,19718 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 90th percentile of 429 cardiovascular disease providers in Tennessee.
Other cardiovascular disease in Nashville
- Christopher EllisNashville$527K
- Joann LindenfeldNashville$270K
- Andrew ZurickNashville$231K
- Mark ZenkerNashville$225K
- George CrossleyNashville$197K
- Joel PharesNashville$171K
- Arvindh KanagasundramNashville$161K
- Jessica HustonNashville$109K
- Joshua BeckmanNashville$106K
- Travis RichardsonNashville$87K
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.