Robert Ripley, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Houston, TXNPI 1154477784
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (58.1%), grants and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Merck at 47.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $5,626 and has fallen 97.9% since, to $116 in 2025.
Across 20 payments — averaging $582.63 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$6K
- Novocure Inc.$3K
- Intuitive Surgical$2K
- Medtronic$2K
- AstraZeneca$125
- Acumed LLC$96
- plus $96 from 2 others
Across 6 payments — averaging $134,171 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$790K
- Genentech, Inc.$15K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$6,77058%
- Grants$1,51413%
- Travel & lodging$1,18610%
- Food & beverage$6836%
- Education$1,50013%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 6 | $5,546 |
| Novocure Inc. | 1 | $2,500 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 8 | $1,776 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $1,514 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $125 |
| Acumed LLC | 1 | $96 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $80 |
| Stryker | 1 | $16 |
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.
- KEYTRUDA$5,456
- Oncology$2,500
- Da Vinci Surgical System$1,500
How this compares
$11,653 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 424 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Texas.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) 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.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Houston
- Michael ReardonHouston$713K
- Danny RamzyHouston$527K
- Randall WolfHouston$283K
- Min KimHouston$185K
- Marc MoonHouston$142K
- Ismael Salas de ArmasHouston$121K
- Shawn GrothHouston$110K
- Mahesh RamchandaniHouston$110K
- Gabriel LoorHouston$106K
- Mara AntonoffHouston$104K
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.