Keesag Baron, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Springfield, MONPI 1891736930
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 90.4% of the total across 881 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 34 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 13.1% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $4,794 and has fallen 99.4% since, to $27 in 2025.
Across 881 payments — averaging $17.00 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Pfizer$2K
- Boston Scientific$2K
- Amgen$1K
- Johnson & Johnson$1K
- Novartis$1K
- AstraZeneca$941
- plus $6K from 28 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,3659%
- Food & beverage$13,54190%
- Education$680%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pfizer | 161 | $1,962 |
| Boston Scientific | 13 | $1,862 |
| Amgen | 111 | $1,470 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 92 | $1,134 |
| Novartis | 82 | $1,105 |
| AstraZeneca | 44 | $941 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 45 | $853 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 53 | $758 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 78 | $586 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 7 | $573 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 27 | $507 |
| Bayer | 48 | $472 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 28 | $452 |
| Merck | 28 | $441 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 8 | $404 |
| Abbott | 10 | $351 |
| Philips North America LLC | 5 | $231 |
| Abiomed | 2 | $155 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 11 | $139 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 7 | $106 |
| Sensible Medical Innovations Inc | 1 | $80 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $50 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 1 | $48 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $39 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Gilead | 2 | $35 |
| Amryt Pharma Holdings Ltd | 2 | $33 |
| Bardy Diagnostics, Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $29 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $23 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Teleflex LLC | 1 | $17 |
| Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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.
- EMBLEM$1,491
- BRILINTA$254
- FARXIGA$254
- ROTABLATOR$119
- Confirm Rx$119
- Adapta$104
How this compares
$14,975 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 391 cardiovascular disease providers in Missouri.
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 | 915 | $958,429 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 457 | $561,926 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 463 | $487,636 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 191 | $167,369 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 111 | $148,600 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 70 | $113,699 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 26 | $42,494 |
| VerquvoVericiguat | 30 | $40,635 |
| Repatha SyringeEvolocumab | 25 | $26,201 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 45 | $20,552 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 11 | $14,633 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 11 | $14,372 |
| EdarbyclorAzilsartan Med/Chlorthalidone | 27 | $10,754 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 97 | $9,291 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 632 | $9,162 |
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 | $1,962 | $958,429915 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $1,105 | $561,926457 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $1,134 | $487,636463 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $941 | $182,002202 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $452 | $113,69970 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Pradaxa | $758 | $48,61643 claims |
| MerckVerquvo | $441 | $40,63530 claims |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Edarbyclor, Edarbi | $106 | $15,63539 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 85th percentile of 391 cardiovascular disease providers in Missouri.
Other cardiovascular disease in Springfield
- Omar Al-TaweelSpringfield$15K
- Mikhail KosiborodKansas City$1.1M
- Georges ChahoudSaint Louis$937K
- William BowenSaint Louis$726K
- Daniel KellySaint Louis$582K
- John SpertusKansas City$360K
- James FairlambColumbia$342K
- James EllisonChesterfield$267K
- Osler Jay GuzonSaint Louis$211K
- Matthew FraleyFlorissant$183K
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.