James Fonger, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Atlanta, GANPI 1497736797
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 90.1% of the total across 89 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 10 manufacturers reported payments, led by Tactile Systems Technology Inc at 43.6% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in GA, where the typical reported total is $6,234.
Across 89 payments — averaging $27.09 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Tactile Systems Technology Inc$1K
- Medtronic$517
- Arthrex$356
- Boston Scientific$123
- Koya Medical, Inc.$100
- Progenacare Global, LLC$98
- plus $168 from 4 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $5605.71 each. An ownership or investment interest held by the physician or an immediate family member.
- Applied Medical Corporation$39K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$23910%
- Food & beverage$2,17390%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 51 | $1,051 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 21 | $517 |
| Arthrex | 5 | $356 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $123 |
| Koya Medical, Inc. | 1 | $100 |
| Progenacare Global, LLC | 2 | $98 |
| Organogenesis Inc. | 2 | $61 |
| Cashflow Solutions, LLC | 3 | $51 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $45 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $11 |
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.
- Koya Medical$200
- Dayspring$200
- Simulus$102
How this compares
$2,411 in reported general payments places this provider in the 30th percentile of 144 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Georgia.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Georgia →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cephalexin | 12 | $85 |
| Methylprednisolone | 17 | $68 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Atlanta
- Manu SanchetiAtlanta$805K
- John PuskasAtlanta$332K
- Douglas MurphyAtlanta$254K
- Ezequiel MolinaAtlanta$215K
- Gaetano PaoneAtlanta$134K
- Michael HalkosAtlanta$102K
- Allan PickensAtlanta$87K
- Bradley LeshnowerAtlanta$63K
- Kimberly HolstAtlanta$52K
- William KeelingAtlanta$49K
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.