Jerry Estep, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Houston, TXNPI 1336343847
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $160,349 of the $226,374 with a category attached, or 70.8%. Abbott accounts for 74.0% of it on its own, with 21 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $73,689, 4.1 times the $17,793 reported in 2019. Among cardiovascular disease clinicians in TX with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 348 payments — averaging $650.50 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$168K
- Procyrion, Inc.$23K
- ZOLL Circulation Inc$12K
- Cvrx, Inc.$10K
- Getinge USA Sales, LLC$5K
- Pfizer$4K
- plus $4K from 16 others
Across 29 payments — averaging $7211.59 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$209K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$160,34971%
- Speaking & faculty fees$31,43814%
- Travel & lodging$24,59611%
- Food & beverage$9,9924%
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 | 272 | $167,593 |
| Procyrion, Inc. | 7 | $23,387 |
| ZOLL Circulation Inc | 12 | $12,344 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 14 | $10,214 |
| Getinge USA Sales, LLC | 5 | $5,239 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $4,050 |
| Medtronic | 5 | $2,081 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 9 | $366 |
| Datascope Corp. | 4 | $281 |
| Boston Scientific | 3 | $223 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 3 | $126 |
| Bayer | 1 | $118 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $76 |
| Abiomed | 1 | $51 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $39 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $31 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $30 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $25 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $20 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $18 |
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.
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$60,203
- CARDIOMEMS$26,884
- AORTIX SYSTEM$23,253
- CardioMEMS HF System$21,767
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$15,689
- TherOx DS2 Console$12,199
- Catheter$12,199
- Downstream Cartridge$12,199
- Barostim Neo System$9,832
- HeartMate Touch$5,075
- VYNDAQEL$4,050
- CARDIOSAVE HYBRID, TYPE B PLUG$2,000
- CARDIOHELP$1,600
- CARDIOSAVE RESCUE$1,250
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device$799
- Vasoview Hemopro 2$389
- Micra$155
- SENSATION$129
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$129
- Kerendia$118
How this compares
$226,374 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,515 cardiovascular disease 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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 47 | $1,032,575 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 339 | $403,214 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 331 | $394,269 |
| VyndaqelTafamidis Meglumine | 18 | $385,911 |
| EliquisApixaban | 66 | $73,213 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 62 | $59,894 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 355 | $5,239 |
| Eplerenone | 60 | $4,414 |
| Digoxin | 29 | $2,522 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 136 | $1,855 |
| Spironolactone | 153 | $1,319 |
| Ezetimibe | 47 | $1,171 |
| Isosorbide Dinitrate | 23 | $1,141 |
| Torsemide | 55 | $1,071 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 28 | $969 |
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, Vyndaqel, Eliquis | $4,050 | $1,491,699131 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $25 | $59,89462 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 95th percentile of 1,515 cardiovascular disease providers in Texas.
Other cardiovascular disease in Houston
- Biykem BozkurtHouston$606K
- Reynolds DelgadoHouston$471K
- Christie BallantyneHouston$413K
- Asif AliHouston$411K
- Sanjay ManiarHouston$263K
- Joggy GeorgeHouston$231K
- Stephen LittleHouston$144K
- Akira NishikawaHouston$109K
- Andres MesaHouston$103K
- Dipan ShahHouston$90K
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.