Safwan Kassas, MD
Interventional Cardiology · Saginaw, MINPI 1467432500
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (54.7%), travel and lodging and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Edwards Lifesciences accounts for 99.2% of it on its own, with 21 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $90,142 and has fallen 68.1% since, to $28,757 in 2025. Among interventional cardiology clinicians in MI with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 560 payments — averaging $607.18 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Edwards Lifesciences$337K
- Abbott$1K
- Biocardia, Inc.$292
- Novartis$286
- Boston Scientific$236
- Medtronic$215
- plus $710 from 16 others
Across 28 payments — averaging $7580.87 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.
- Edwards Lifesciences$161K
- Boston Scientific$51K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$185,86955%
- Speaking & faculty fees$69,91321%
- Travel & lodging$75,10222%
- Food & beverage$9,1363%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Edwards Lifesciences | 494 | $337,278 |
| Abbott | 14 | $1,003 |
| Biocardia, Inc. | 1 | $292 |
| Novartis | 15 | $286 |
| Boston Scientific | 5 | $236 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 3 | $215 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 6 | $133 |
| Cardiac Dimensions, Inc. | 2 | $117 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $113 |
| Recor Medical Inc | 2 | $47 |
| Amgen | 2 | $43 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 2 | $30 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $27 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $25 |
| Bayer | 1 | $24 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $24 |
| Teleflex LLC | 1 | $19 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 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
$340,019 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 187 interventional cardiology providers in Michigan.
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 | 296 | $390,147 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 164 | $199,268 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 49 | $49,514 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 31 | $37,893 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 20 | $28,982 |
| NexlizetBempedoic Acid/Ezetimibe | 25 | $26,553 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 12 | $26,552 |
| Varenicline Tartrate | 59 | $18,475 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 36 | $18,067 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 12 | $10,616 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 419 | $6,895 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 316 | $5,598 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 30 | $5,446 |
| Ezetimibe | 90 | $4,168 |
| Potassium Chloride | 143 | $3,736 |
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 | $24 | $390,147296 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $286 | $199,268164 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $27 | $37,89331 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $14 | $26,55212 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 95th percentile of 187 interventional cardiology providers in Michigan.
Other interventional cardiology in Saginaw
- Daniel LeeSaginaw$190K
- Amer KadriSaginaw$42K
- Amir KakiDetroit$1.8M
- Tamam MohamadDetroit$960K
- Paul GrossmanAnn Arbor$630K
- Jason RicciPetoskey$594K
- Tim FischellKalamazoo$468K
- Mir BasirDetroit$442K
- Amr AbbasBerkley$416K
- Vishal GuptaKalamazoo$293K
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.