John Breaux, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Lacombe, LANPI 1760487680
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $3,339 of the $4,383 with a category attached, or 76.2%. 14 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 43.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,488 and has fallen 71.8% since, to $420 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in LA, where the typical reported total is $4,896.
Across 58 payments — averaging $75.57 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Edwards Lifesciences$1K
- Abiomed$371
- Abbott$241
- Atricure, Inc.$145
- Silk Road Medical, Inc.$92
- plus $239 from 8 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,04424%
- Food & beverage$3,33976%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 22 | $1,919 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 15 | $1,377 |
| Abiomed | 3 | $371 |
| Abbott | 3 | $241 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 5 | $145 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 1 | $92 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 2 | $75 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 1 | $57 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $21 |
| Haemonetics Corporation | 1 | $20 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $18 |
| Artivion, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Olympus America Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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.
How this compares
$4,383 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 75 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Louisiana.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Louisiana →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amiodarone Hcl | 21 | $149 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 34 | $135 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Lacombe
- Richard GitterMetairie$1.5M
- Emily CassidyBaton Rouge$1.3M
- David AllieLafayette$666K
- Vern KellerLafayette$394K
- Aditya BansalNew Orleans$140K
- Daniel BecklesLake Charles$80K
- Nicholas LeblancBaton Rouge$70K
- Sarah AhmadMonroe$58K
- Imtiaz KhanBaton Rouge$42K
- Robert DewittAlexandria$38K
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.