Joe Wells, MD
Vascular Surgery · Austin, TXNPI 1629092903
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $1,867 of the $2,913 with a category attached, or 64.1%. 9 manufacturers reported payments, led by W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. at 58.4% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for vascular surgery clinicians in TX, where the typical reported total is $7,106.
Across 28 payments — averaging $104.05 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$2K
- Penumbra, Inc.$441
- Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.$185
- Atricure, Inc.$177
- Smith+Nephew$130
- Johnson & Johnson$125
- plus $154 from 3 others
Across 18 payments — averaging $6457.59 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.
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$116K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,04636%
- Food & beverage$1,86764%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 11 | $1,701 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 4 | $441 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 3 | $185 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $177 |
| Smith+Nephew | 2 | $130 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $125 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $53 |
| Getinge USA Sales, LLC | 2 | $52 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 1 | $49 |
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.
- Product in Development$826
- TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$419
- Penumbra System$264
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM (CRYO2)$177
- ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM$177
- Indigo System$159
- LUTONIX$153
- Conformable TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$138
- PICO Single Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy$120
- GORE TAG Conformable Thoracic Endoprosthesis$120
- DERMABOND$102
- VISTASEAL$102
- SURGIFLO Hemostatic Matrix$102
- SURGICEL NU-KNIT$102
How this compares
$2,913 in reported general payments places this provider in the 25th percentile of 347 vascular surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 60 | $581 |
| Gabapentin | 20 | $108 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other vascular surgery in Austin
- Mazin FotehAustin$1.6M
- Pedro TeixeiraAustin$40K
- Stephen SettleAustin$37K
- Gregory PearlDallas$2.3M
- Alan LumsdenHouston$742K
- Stephen HohmannDallas$499K
- Michael SiahDallas$392K
- Gustavo OderichHouston$319K
- Jean BismuthHouston$243K
- Carlos TimaranDallas$231K
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.