Mahwash Kassi, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Houston, TXNPI 1497034789
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (53.6%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 21 manufacturers reported payments, led by AstraZeneca at 31.8% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $10,077, 6.8 times the $1,486 reported in 2019.
Across 215 payments — averaging $108.40 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$7K
- Bridgebio Pharma, Inc.$4K
- Abbott$4K
- Abiomed$3K
- Pfizer$2K
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.$914
- plus $2K from 15 others
Across 47 payments — averaging $8392.86 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.
- AstraZeneca$226K
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.$91K
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$66K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Ltd$12K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$12,48554%
- Travel & lodging$2,36910%
- Food & beverage$8,45136%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 18 | $7,418 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $4,364 |
| Abbott | 95 | $3,849 |
| Abiomed | 24 | $3,045 |
| Pfizer | 8 | $1,818 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 12 | $914 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 7 | $476 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 3 | $324 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 5 | $234 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 9 | $210 |
| Amgen | 12 | $192 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 5 | $106 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 2 | $64 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $63 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $49 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $47 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 3 | $44 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Haemonetics Corporation | 1 | $24 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $18 |
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
$23,305 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 1,515 cardiovascular disease 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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 35 | $1,188,021 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 185 | $190,879 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 107 | $106,612 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 70 | $70,708 |
| EliquisApixaban | 61 | $50,127 |
| Valganciclovir Hcl | 24 | $4,403 |
| Tacrolimus | 13 | $3,634 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 22 | $2,929 |
| Potassium Chloride | 49 | $2,165 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 114 | $2,043 |
| Torsemide | 47 | $1,744 |
| Spironolactone | 153 | $993 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 86 | $756 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 45 | $681 |
| Furosemide | 119 | $680 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerVyndamax, Eliquis | $1,818 | $1,238,14896 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $106 | $106,612107 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $7,418 | $70,70870 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 1,515 cardiovascular disease providers in Texas.
Other cardiovascular disease in Houston
- Biykem BozkurtHouston$606K
- Reynolds DelgadoHouston$471K
- Christie BallantyneHouston$413K
- Asif AliHouston$411K
- Sanjay ManiarHouston$263K
- Joggy GeorgeHouston$231K
- Jerry EstepHouston$226K
- Stephen LittleHouston$144K
- Akira NishikawaHouston$109K
- Andres MesaHouston$103K
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.