Jerome Thomas, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Austin, TXNPI 1225133689
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (51.3%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Abbott accounts for 77.2% of it on its own, with 33 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $58,179, 7.5 times the $7,762 reported in 2019.
Across 1,274 payments — averaging $143.09 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$141K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$22K
- Bayer$5K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$4K
- Abiomed$3K
- Novartis$1K
- plus $6K from 28 others
Across 4 payments — averaging $857.50 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$3K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$93,50651%
- Speaking & faculty fees$41,86423%
- Travel & lodging$13,8518%
- Food & beverage$33,01918%
- Education$610%
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 | 767 | $140,679 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 80 | $22,267 |
| Bayer | 10 | $5,130 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 7 | $4,188 |
| Abiomed | 143 | $3,104 |
| Novartis | 103 | $1,241 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 2 | $1,040 |
| AstraZeneca | 28 | $916 |
| Pfizer | 24 | $463 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 9 | $414 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 4 | $379 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 16 | $372 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 13 | $247 |
| Boston Scientific | 3 | $226 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 3 | $226 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 15 | $202 |
| Endotronix, Inc. | 1 | $186 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 9 | $177 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 2 | $169 |
| Merck | 7 | $129 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 6 | $122 |
| Masimo Corporation | 2 | $89 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 2 | $65 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 2 | $42 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 5 | $35 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $24 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $22 |
| Vital Connect, Inc | 1 | $19 |
| GSK | 1 | $17 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Amgen | 1 | $14 |
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.
- CARDIOMEMS$76,451
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$29,292
- UPTRAVI$21,287
- OPSUMIT$21,287
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device$8,060
- CardioMEMS HF System$6,094
- Adempas$4,938
- JARDIANCE$4,662
- Ensite Cardiac Mapping System$2,625
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$2,135
- MitraClip$1,971
- Impella$859
- 2ND GEN CENTRIMAG PRIMARY CONSOLE$704
- OPTIMIZER$338
- Barostim Neo System$290
- BRILINTA$274
- CentriMag$228
- CORDELLA PULOMONARY ARTERY PRESSURE SENSOR$186
- HeartMate$161
- Confirm Rx$153
How this compares
$182,301 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 75 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Texas.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| AdempasRiociguat | 142 | $1,973,339 |
| UptraviSelexipag | 76 | $1,815,793 |
| OpsumitMacitentan | 107 | $1,345,090 |
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 36 | $1,091,758 |
| VyndaqelTafamidis Meglumine | 48 | $1,064,840 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 414 | $394,059 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 379 | $315,612 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 157 | $127,708 |
| EliquisApixaban | 121 | $106,370 |
| Ambrisentan | 14 | $39,900 |
| RevatioSildenafil Citrate | 11 | $30,364 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 19 | $17,043 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 25 | $11,647 |
| Potassium Chloride | 352 | $8,875 |
| Torsemide | 367 | $8,685 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.Uptravi, Opsumit | $22,267 | $3,160,883183 claims |
| PfizerVyndamax, Vyndaqel, Eliquis | $463 | $2,262,969205 claims |
| BayerAdempas | $5,130 | $1,973,339142 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $1,241 | $394,059414 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $916 | $315,612379 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $4,188 | $127,708157 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $35 | $17,04319 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 75 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Texas.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Austin
- Kunjan BhattAustin$324K
- Clay CauthenAustin$51K
- Raymond BietryAustin$15K
- Andrew ChengAustin$6K
- Robert GottliebDallas$717K
- Albert HicksTemple$613K
- Allen AndersonSan Antonio$413K
- Martin BerkDallas$379K
- Aasim AfzalPlano$336K
- Barry TrachtenbergHouston$306K
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.