John Rhee, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Arlington, VANPI 1073572285
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (57.2%), travel and lodging and other — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 44.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $2,014 and has fallen 81.8% since, to $367 in 2024. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in VA, where the typical reported total is $3,688.
Across 47 payments — averaging $78.48 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Edwards Lifesciences$1K
- Baxter Healthcare$588
- Alphatec Spine, Inc$244
- Bolton Medical Inc$28
- Livanova USA, Inc.$23
- plus $36 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$99227%
- Food & beverage$2,10857%
- Other$58816%
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) | 24 | $1,638 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 17 | $1,131 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $588 |
| Alphatec Spine, Inc | 1 | $244 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 1 | $28 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $22 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 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
$3,688 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 109 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Virginia.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Virginia →
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.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Arlington
- Clinton KempNorfolk$367K
- Sandeep KhandharFairfax$261K
- Mark CooperHampton$219K
- Linda MartinCharlottesville$76K
- Kenneth SaumLynchburg$56K
- Michael WeyantFalls Church$47K
- Mark JosephRoanoke$44K
- Justin MilliganVirginia Beach$42K
- Christopher BarreiroNorfolk$41K
- Alan SpeirFalls Church$39K
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.