Leo Simpson, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Houston, TXNPI 1922019967
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (34.2%), food and beverage and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 26 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abiomed at 45.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $13,409 and has fallen 98.8% since, to $155 in 2025.
Across 366 payments — averaging $81.41 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abiomed$14K
- Abbott$10K
- Edwards Lifesciences$2K
- Medtronic$2K
- Cardiovascular Systems Inc.$527
- Cardiva Medical, Inc.$525
- plus $1K from 20 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $165.96 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.
- Abiomed$166
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$5,95020%
- Speaking & faculty fees$10,20034%
- Travel & lodging$4,80916%
- Food & beverage$8,71229%
- Education$1260%
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 | 25 | $13,592 |
| Abbott | 86 | $10,132 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 69 | $1,915 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 29 | $1,606 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 16 | $527 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 81 | $525 |
| Boston Scientific | 11 | $511 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 11 | $153 |
| Amgen | 7 | $109 |
| Novartis | 5 | $98 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $84 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $73 |
| Veryan Medical Incorporated | 1 | $71 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 1 | $51 |
| AstraZeneca | 3 | $47 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $43 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $39 |
| Merck | 2 | $38 |
| Analog Devices Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 2 | $31 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $27 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $23 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $20 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Avinger Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
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
$29,797 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 75 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Texas.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Texas →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 119 | $133,550 |
| EliquisApixaban | 95 | $105,493 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 77 | $56,015 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 34 | $42,216 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 55 | $35,166 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 24 | $31,041 |
| Sirolimus | 36 | $17,506 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 18 | $17,109 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 15 | $14,136 |
| Tacrolimus | 75 | $11,503 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 410 | $7,209 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 184 | $6,026 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 304 | $5,509 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 62 | $4,557 |
| Carvedilol | 356 | $3,867 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| NovartisEntresto | $98 | $133,550119 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $20 | $105,49395 claims |
| AstraZenecaBrilinta, Farxiga | $47 | $73,12495 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $27 | $42,21634 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $39 | $14,13615 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 65th percentile of 75 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Texas.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Houston
- Barry TrachtenbergHouston$306K
- Arvind BhimarajHouston$216K
- Ajith NairHouston$80K
- Ashrith GuhaHouston$61K
- Cindy MartinHouston$47K
- Andrew CivitelloHouston$19K
- Rayan YousefzaiHouston$8K
- Ju KimHouston$7K
- Sana ShoukatHouston$7K
- Janardhana GorthiHouston$5K
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.