Michael Brown, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Walnut Creek, CANPI 1093719056
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.8% of the total across 371 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 34 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 19.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $1,737 and has fallen 56.4% since, to $757 in 2025.
Across 371 payments — averaging $21.35 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Biotronik Inc.$2K
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$649
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$566
- Abbott$412
- Novartis$407
- Boehringer Ingelheim$390
- plus $4K from 28 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$7,74998%
- Education$1732%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Biotronik Inc. | 62 | $1,501 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 24 | $649 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 32 | $566 |
| Abbott | 18 | $412 |
| Novartis | 23 | $407 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 16 | $390 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 17 | $360 |
| Amgen | 19 | $349 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 19 | $341 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 8 | $340 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 10 | $320 |
| Philips North America LLC | 10 | $268 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 17 | $261 |
| Bayer | 14 | $260 |
| Novo Nordisk | 11 | $254 |
| Pfizer | 16 | $226 |
| Boston Scientific | 10 | $195 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 8 | $149 |
| AstraZeneca | 6 | $89 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 3 | $80 |
| Merck | 5 | $77 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 3 | $69 |
| Cathworks, Inc. | 4 | $50 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $48 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 2 | $30 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $21 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Abiomed | 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.
How this compares
$7,922 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 2,184 cardiovascular disease providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 445 | $637,418 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 216 | $266,334 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 122 | $147,917 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 113 | $143,839 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 61 | $103,597 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 74 | $82,167 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 60 | $65,805 |
| Repatha PushtronexEvolocumab | 27 | $28,641 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 25 | $28,437 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 31 | $25,241 |
| WegovySemaglutide | 16 | $23,466 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 22 | $22,994 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 11 | $22,055 |
| CorlanorIvabradine Hcl | 13 | $17,278 |
| Bisoprolol Fumarate | 222 | $8,015 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $226 | $637,418445 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $261 | $266,334216 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $407 | $147,917122 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $390 | $143,839113 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $149 | $103,59761 claims |
| Novo NordiskWegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus | $254 | $68,51549 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $89 | $65,80560 claims |
| AmgenCorlanor | $349 | $17,27813 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 2,184 cardiovascular disease providers in California.
Other cardiovascular disease in Walnut Creek
- Ted LoveHillsborough$102.8M
- Paul KurthSanta Barbara$6.1M
- Jason RogersSacramento$4.4M
- Matthew BudoffTorrance$3.6M
- Eric Topolla Jolla$2.2M
- Cathleen Bairey-MerzLos Angeles$1.2M
- Gagan SinghSacramento$1.2M
- Pam Taubla Jolla$1.2M
- Wilber SuStanford$1.1M
- Thomas SmithSacramento$942K
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.