Luis Tapias Vargas, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Rochester, MNNPI 1922391143
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (55.2%), consulting fees and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 6 manufacturers reported payments, led by Intuitive Surgical at 54.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $6,707 and has fallen 97.2% since, to $187 in 2025.
Across 11 payments — averaging $667.45 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$4K
- Astrazeneca UK Limited$3K
- Atricure, Inc.$552
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$136
- Merck$51
- AstraZeneca$19
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2,01127%
- Speaking & faculty fees$94013%
- Food & beverage$3405%
- Education$4,05155%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 3 | $4,032 |
| Astrazeneca UK Limited | 2 | $2,551 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 2 | $552 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 1 | $136 |
| Merck | 2 | $51 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $19 |
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
$7,342 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 128 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Minnesota.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Minnesota →
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 Rochester
- Malakh ShresthaRochester$89K
- Juan CrestanelloRochester$56K
- Janani ReisenauerRochester$46K
- Monisha SudarshanRochester$22K
- Arman ArghamiRochester$16K
- Yahya AlwatariRochester$13K
- Elvis CamachoRochester$11K
- Stephen CassiviRochester$10K
- Phillip RowseRochester$9K
- K Robert ShenRochester$7K
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.