Nidal Abi Rafeh, MD
Interventional Cardiology · Hammond, LANPI 1457506743
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $102,531 of the $135,885 with a category attached, or 75.5%. 29 manufacturers reported payments, led by Shockwave Medical, Inc at 41.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $50,788 and has fallen 92.6% since, to $3,746 in 2025. Among interventional cardiology clinicians in LA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 331 payments — averaging $410.53 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Shockwave Medical, Inc$56K
- Boston Scientific$53K
- Abbott$11K
- Medtronic$10K
- Abiomed$1K
- Edwards Lifesciences$1K
- plus $1K from 23 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $2000.00 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.
- Medtronic$2K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$20,00015%
- Speaking & faculty fees$102,53175%
- Travel & lodging$2,1442%
- Food & beverage$11,2098%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 48 | $56,438 |
| Boston Scientific | 33 | $53,498 |
| Abbott | 14 | $11,403 |
| Medtronic | 87 | $10,471 |
| Abiomed | 56 | $1,350 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 24 | $1,308 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 13 | $173 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 5 | $160 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 1 | $113 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 5 | $98 |
| Novartis | 5 | $85 |
| GE HealthCare | 3 | $83 |
| Philips North America LLC | 4 | $78 |
| AstraZeneca | 5 | $70 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 2 | $57 |
| Merck | 3 | $51 |
| Cordis US CORP. | 3 | $50 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 3 | $49 |
| Pfizer | 3 | $46 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 2 | $46 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $39 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Amgen | 2 | $31 |
| Terumo Medical Corporation | 2 | $29 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Biogen | 1 | $21 |
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company | 1 | $21 |
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.
- Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter$46,383
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$38,713
- GENERAL VASCULAR ACCESS$12,500
- Xience V coronary stent system$11,000
- Vascular Lithotripsy$9,255
- COREVALVE EVOLUT R$8,050
- CROSSBOSS$1,500
- PASCAL$363
- CoreValve Evolut$281
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$279
- Impella$249
- Avalus$132
- AVVIGO Guidance System$125
- CorPath Imaging System$113
- Artis icono floor$113
- COROFLOW$108
- LifeVest$100
How this compares
$135,885 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 171 interventional cardiology providers in Louisiana.
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 | 193 | $142,344 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 168 | $123,685 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 144 | $121,717 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 99 | $101,489 |
| NexlizetBempedoic Acid/Ezetimibe | 56 | $32,036 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 31 | $29,595 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 40 | $22,858 |
| NexletolBempedoic Acid | 35 | $18,696 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 21 | $17,521 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 24 | $10,000 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 420 | $4,152 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 67 | $3,638 |
| Ezetimibe | 175 | $2,413 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 268 | $2,198 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 225 | $1,759 |
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 | $46 | $142,344193 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $70 | $141,206189 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $98 | $121,717144 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $85 | $101,48999 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 90th percentile of 171 interventional cardiology providers in Louisiana.
Other interventional cardiology in Hammond
- Craig WalkerHouma$5M
- Denzil MoraesBaton Rouge$901K
- Ankur LodhaLafayette$640K
- Rajan PatelNew Orleans$517K
- Agostino IngraldiLafayette$315K
- Steven BaileyShreveport$305K
- James JenkinsNew Orleans$235K
- Louis SalvaggioLafayette$214K
- Pradeep NairHouma$212K
- Jorge CastellanosBaton Rouge$185K
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.