Mark Aaron, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Nashville, TNNPI 1306891262
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $10,600 of the $12,506 with a category attached, or 84.8%. Novartis accounts for 86.3% of it on its own, with 10 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $10,839 and has fallen 99.2% since, to $92 in 2024.
Across 39 payments — averaging $320.68 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novartis$11K
- Heartflow, Inc.$1K
- Abbott$300
- Boston Scientific$187
- AstraZeneca$73
- Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$39
- plus $112 from 5 others
Across 29 payments — averaging $4606.63 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.
- Abbott$134K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1391%
- Speaking & faculty fees$10,60085%
- Travel & lodging$6585%
- Food & beverage$1,0959%
- Education$140%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis | 14 | $10,791 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 8 | $1,005 |
| Abbott | 3 | $300 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $187 |
| AstraZeneca | 3 | $73 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $32 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $28 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $22 |
| Nuwellis, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Bayer | 1 | $14 |
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.
- ENTRESTO$10,600
- FFRct$910
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$257
- WATCHMAN Access System$173
How this compares
$12,506 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 28 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Tennessee.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Tennessee →
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 | 578 | $657,631 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 461 | $541,908 |
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 11 | $254,990 |
| EliquisApixaban | 227 | $229,228 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 137 | $117,025 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 52 | $69,401 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 48 | $33,444 |
| CorlanorIvabradine Hcl | 22 | $17,616 |
| Torsemide | 234 | $6,958 |
| Dabigatran EtexilateDabigatran Etexilate Mesylate | 30 | $5,821 |
| Carvedilol | 493 | $5,620 |
| Spironolactone | 549 | $4,939 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 318 | $4,863 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 378 | $4,340 |
| Potassium Chloride | 145 | $4,119 |
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 | $10,791 | $657,631578 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $28 | $541,908461 claims |
| PfizerVyndamax, Eliquis | $32 | $484,218238 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $73 | $117,025137 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 70th percentile of 28 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Tennessee.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Nashville
- Jonathan MenachemNashville$79K
- Richa GuptaNashville$46K
- Matthew DeshazoNashville$38K
- Lynne StevensonNashville$25K
- Warren StriblingNashville$23K
- John BiglaneNashville$9K
- Jeremy BrooksbankNashville$9K
- Ashley BockNashville$8K
- Zachary Il'giovineNashville$6K
- Andrew McRaeNashville$3K
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.