Joseph Aragon, MD
Interventional Cardiology · Santa Barbara, CANPI 1023122587
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (44.9%), consulting fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 32 manufacturers reported payments, led by W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. at 32.1% of the total. Among interventional cardiology clinicians in CA 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 1,030 payments — averaging $278.60 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$92K
- Boston Scientific$74K
- Edwards Lifesciences$59K
- Medtronic$19K
- Shockwave Medical, Inc$16K
- Abbott$15K
- plus $13K from 26 others
Across 210 payments — averaging $4037.95 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.
- Edwards Lifesciences$336K
- Boston Scientific$232K
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$161K
- Abbott$100K
- Amgen$20K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$90,25531%
- Speaking & faculty fees$128,84545%
- Grants$2,9751%
- Travel & lodging$20,2377%
- Food & beverage$43,81115%
- Education$8380%
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. | 102 | $92,051 |
| Boston Scientific | 217 | $73,561 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 191 | $59,404 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 108 | $18,555 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 24 | $15,670 |
| Abbott | 265 | $14,573 |
| AstraZeneca | 14 | $5,450 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 9 | $2,471 |
| Abiomed | 21 | $1,654 |
| Teleflex LLC | 9 | $430 |
| Amgen | 8 | $328 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 12 | $302 |
| Surmodics, Inc. | 2 | $284 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 2 | $272 |
| Philips North America LLC | 5 | $271 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 2 | $265 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 2 | $224 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 11 | $197 |
| Asahi Intecc USA, Inc. | 1 | $146 |
| Portola Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 2 | $140 |
| Elutia, Inc. | 1 | $133 |
| Novartis | 6 | $120 |
| Imperative Care, Inc | 1 | $116 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $114 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 5 | $106 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 2 | $41 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $16 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Acist Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 1 | $5 |
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.
- CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder$46,110
- GORE CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder$42,530
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$28,132
- Watchman$24,591
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve$23,439
- Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter$15,255
- VersaCross Access Solution$13,997
- CoreValve Evolut$13,863
- WATCHMAN Access System$11,203
- GENERAL - STRUCTURAL HEART$6,875
- BRILINTA$5,107
- GENERAL VASCULAR ACCESS$4,500
- VersaCross Large Access Solution$4,375
- SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA$4,081
- GORE CARDIOFORM ASD Occluder$2,970
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$2,763
- KENGREAL$2,268
- PRESSUREWIRE$2,033
- Product in Development$1,525
- WATCHMAN FLX$1,405
How this compares
$286,962 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 585 interventional cardiology providers in California.
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 | 55 | $67,653 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 67 | $52,636 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 39 | $49,901 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 47 | $44,161 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 16 | $9,821 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 202 | $3,230 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 127 | $2,699 |
| Ezetimibe | 41 | $2,552 |
| Nebivolol Hcl | 24 | $2,307 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 133 | $1,669 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 121 | $1,283 |
| Valsartan | 11 | $1,060 |
| Carvedilol | 84 | $845 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 11 | $790 |
| Potassium Chloride | 27 | $608 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $16 | $67,65355 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $302 | $49,90139 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $120 | $44,16147 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 585 interventional cardiology providers in California.
Other interventional cardiology in Santa Barbara
- Matthew Pricela Jolla$2.3M
- Frederick St GoarMountain View$2.2M
- Saibal KarThousand Oaks$1.1M
- Rahul SharmaStanford$1M
- Puneet KhannaRancho Mirage$1M
- Dennis SheehanRedwood City$900K
- Suhail DohadBeverly Hills$802K
- Curtiss Stinisla Jolla$759K
- Christian SpiesBurlingame$719K
- Evan ZahnLos Angeles$632K
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.