John Heifner, MD
Nephrology · Little Rock, ARNPI 1588666895
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (52.9%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Skeletal Dynamics Inc accounts for 94.3% of it on its own, with 12 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $42,774 and has fallen 99.5% since, to $211 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in AR 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 116 payments — averaging $390.21 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Skeletal Dynamics Inc$43K
- Amgen$2K
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$210
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$125
- AstraZeneca$115
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$61
- plus $216 from 7 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $1210.00 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.
- Skeletal Dynamics Inc$1K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$1,7704%
- Travel & lodging$14,80333%
- Food & beverage$4,76611%
- Education$23,92453%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Skeletal Dynamics Inc | 72 | $42,692 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 6 | $1,845 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 9 | $210 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 3 | $125 |
| AstraZeneca | 7 | $115 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $61 |
| Stryker | 1 | $56 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 8 | $35 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 2 | $27 |
| Bayer | 1 | $23 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $19 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $15 |
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
$45,264 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 85 nephrology providers in Arkansas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 134 | $325,780 |
| RenvelaSevelamer Carbonate | 39 | $43,842 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 176 | $28,131 |
| Lanthanum Carbonate | 22 | $16,340 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 15 | $13,591 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 11 | $7,459 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 13 | $6,577 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 19 | $5,812 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 188 | $2,893 |
| Calcium Acetate | 37 | $2,843 |
| Potassium Chloride | 69 | $1,371 |
| Paricalcitol | 17 | $1,162 |
| Losartan Potassium | 139 | $1,009 |
| Vilazodone Hcl | 12 | $904 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 50 | $901 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $210 | $325,780134 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $23 | $13,59115 claims |
| AstraZenecaLokelma | $115 | $6,57713 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 85 nephrology providers in Arkansas.
Other nephrology in Little Rock
- Luis JuncosLittle Rock$66K
- John ArthurLittle Rock$7K
- Moses EjioforLittle Rock$6K
- Alex DavidLittle Rock$6K
- Prajwal ChevireddyLittle Rock$3K
- Muhammad AlamLittle Rock$2K
- Kashaf RasheedLittle Rock$2K
- Fakhar IjazLittle Rock$2K
- Nithin KarakalaLittle Rock$739
- Garry GlascoLittle Rock$459
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.