John Higgins, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Vidalia, GANPI 1679531925
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 22 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abiomed at 47.5% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for cardiovascular disease clinicians in GA, where the typical reported total is $2,276.
Across 22 payments — averaging $33.38 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abiomed$349
- Boston Scientific$116
- Shockwave Medical, Inc$93
- Edwards Lifesciences$61
- AstraZeneca$58
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$23
- plus $35 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$734100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abiomed | 7 | $349 |
| Boston Scientific | 7 | $116 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $93 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $61 |
| AstraZeneca | 3 | $58 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $23 |
| Novartis | 1 | $18 |
| Teleflex LLC | 1 | $17 |
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.
- Impella$129
How this compares
$734 in reported general payments places this provider in the 30th percentile of 640 cardiovascular disease providers in Georgia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 19 | $13,960 |
| Bumetanide | 15 | $710 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 31 | $530 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 37 | $428 |
| Losartan Potassium | 51 | $386 |
| Potassium Chloride | 13 | $363 |
| Isosorbide Mononitrate ErIsosorbide Mononitrate | 28 | $221 |
| Nitroglycerin | 21 | $172 |
| Carvedilol | 18 | $129 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 15 | $82 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 25 | $80 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 15 | $79 |
| Furosemide | 13 | $20 |
| Lisinopril | 14 | $9 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other cardiovascular disease in Vidalia
- Narendra SinghJohns Creek$1.6M
- Hunter ChampionColumbus$1.5M
- Nicolas ChronosEatonton$912K
- Jaime BurkleGainesville$628K
- Joseph MillerAtlanta$573K
- Kashyap ChoksiThomasville$263K
- Utpal PandyaAtlanta$221K
- Randolph MartinAtlanta$177K
- Hiren ShahColumbus$166K
- Mani VannanAtlanta$157K
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.