Elbert Kuo, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Jacksonville, FLNPI 1770669152
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (41.2%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Intuitive Surgical accounts for 64.0% of it on its own, with 19 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $23,598 and has fallen 79.4% since, to $4,871 in 2025.
Across 225 payments — averaging $246.16 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$35K
- Medtronic$6K
- Covidien LP$4K
- Johnson & Johnson$4K
- AstraZeneca$3K
- Davol Inc.$1K
- plus $2K from 14 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$5,1259%
- Speaking & faculty fees$7,22013%
- Travel & lodging$8,73916%
- Food & beverage$11,29120%
- Education$22,80641%
- Gifts$2030%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 112 | $35,428 |
| Medtronic | 11 | $6,033 |
| Covidien LP | 17 | $4,173 |
| Johnson & Johnson(3 entities) | 31 | $3,603 |
| AstraZeneca | 9 | $2,515 |
| Davol Inc. | 8 | $1,234 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 10 | $1,065 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 5 | $294 |
| Pinnacle Biologics, Inc | 3 | $222 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 4 | $220 |
| Pulmonx Corporation | 2 | $163 |
| Medela LLC | 1 | $129 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 2 | $86 |
| BD | 3 | $57 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $42 |
| Conmed Corporation | 1 | $38 |
| CSL Behring | 1 | $26 |
| KARL Storz Endoscopy-america | 1 | $23 |
| Merck | 1 | $18 |
| Ambu 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.
- Da Vinci Surgical System$32,423
- superDimension$4,996
- ILLUMISITE$4,023
- IMFINZI$1,628
- AdvantageRib$852
- Progel Applicator Spray Tips$799
- TAGRISSO$798
- Monarch Platform$596
- PHASIX$221
- Phasix Mesh$163
- CHARTIS CATHETER$150
- ZEPHYR DELIVERY CATHETER$150
- ZEPHYR ENDOBRONCHIAL VALVE$150
- PULMONX CHARTIS TABLET CONSOLE$150
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOSPHERE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM$148
- Polysorb$148
How this compares
$55,385 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 408 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Florida.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) 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.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Jacksonville
- John PirrisJacksonville$640K
- Magdy El-Sayed AhmedJacksonville$209K
- Chadwick StoufferJacksonville$114K
- Christopher ScottJacksonville$111K
- Kenan YountJacksonville$74K
- Nathan BatesJacksonville$58K
- Anthony NunezOrlando$4.8M
- Barry WintonLargo$687K
- Paul DigiorgiPort Charlotte$666K
- Jacques FontaineTampa$630K
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.