Kevin Vaska, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Sioux Falls, SDNPI 1891782645
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (54.2%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. accounts for 69.8% of it on its own, with 26 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $8,393 and has fallen 84.3% since, to $1,322 in 2025. Among cardiovascular disease clinicians in SD with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 453 payments — averaging $53.08 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$17K
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$2K
- United Therapeutics Corporation$969
- Johnson & Johnson$946
- Boehringer Ingelheim$524
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$345
- plus $3K from 21 others
Across 5 payments — averaging $3660.00 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.
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Ltd$18K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2001%
- Speaking & faculty fees$13,04554%
- Travel & lodging$1,9908%
- Food & beverage$8,59336%
- Education$2191%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 80 | $16,781 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 68 | $1,592 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 43 | $969 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 72 | $946 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 30 | $524 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 23 | $345 |
| Merck | 14 | $338 |
| Bayer | 9 | $327 |
| AstraZeneca | 22 | $309 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 16 | $307 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 6 | $279 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 8 | $173 |
| Boston Scientific | 8 | $165 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 10 | $157 |
| Amgen | 5 | $115 |
| Novartis | 7 | $112 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $97 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 1 | $81 |
| Novo Nordisk | 4 | $72 |
| Abbott | 3 | $65 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 5 | $62 |
| Pfizer | 4 | $58 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $52 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 3 | $50 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Apria Healthcare LLC | 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.
How this compares
$24,047 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 33 cardiovascular disease providers in South Dakota.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OpsumitMacitentan | 138 | $1,678,002 |
| AdempasRiociguat | 38 | $514,933 |
| Bosentan | 118 | $385,481 |
| Tyvaso DpiTreprostinil | 15 | $382,947 |
| Orenitram ErTreprostinil Diolamine | 34 | $273,444 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 139 | $128,313 |
| EliquisApixaban | 121 | $112,652 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 130 | $76,924 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 58 | $64,628 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 61 | $39,200 |
| CorlanorIvabradine Hcl | 47 | $31,813 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 30 | $24,183 |
| Tadalafil | 49 | $22,443 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 21 | $11,699 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 16 | $9,935 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.Opsumit, Bosentan | $16,781 | $2,063,483256 claims |
| BayerAdempas, Kerendia | $327 | $524,86854 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $946 | $128,313139 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $58 | $112,652121 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $112 | $76,924130 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $157 | $64,62858 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $309 | $39,20061 claims |
| AmgenCorlanor | $115 | $31,81347 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $524 | $24,18330 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 90th percentile of 33 cardiovascular disease providers in South Dakota.
Other cardiovascular disease in Sioux Falls
- Naveen RajpurohitSioux Falls$68K
- Udit BhatnagarSioux Falls$19K
- John BacharachSioux Falls$18K
- Mahmoud SharafSioux Falls$11K
- Maria StysSioux Falls$3K
- Christopher PaaSioux Falls$3K
- Richard ClarkSioux Falls$2K
- Amjad Panickaveettil Mohamed BasheerSioux Falls$1K
- Fawzi AmeerSioux Falls$1K
- Sherrie BrooksSioux Falls$1K
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.