Sharon Hecker, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Kalispell, MTNPI 1902888183
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 17 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 12 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $200 and has fallen 68.7% since, to $63 in 2023. That places this record below the midpoint for cardiovascular disease clinicians in MT, where the typical reported total is $1,321.
Across 17 payments — averaging $17.06 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novartis$49
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$43
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$36
- Boston Scientific$27
- Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC$23
- AstraZeneca$20
- plus $91 from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$290100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis | 3 | $49 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 3 | $43 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $27 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $23 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $20 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $18 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $16 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 1 | $15 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 1 | $12 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $11 |
How this compares
$290 in reported general payments places this provider in the 30th percentile of 49 cardiovascular disease providers in Montana.
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 | 110 | $143,005 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 57 | $59,689 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 15 | $24,307 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 16 | $21,465 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 153 | $1,995 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 124 | $1,452 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 25 | $1,448 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 19 | $1,258 |
| Eplerenone | 12 | $851 |
| Losartan Potassium | 68 | $722 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 71 | $698 |
| Carvedilol | 65 | $533 |
| Potassium Chloride | 23 | $488 |
| Spironolactone | 30 | $414 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 22 | $406 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $16 | $59,68957 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $49 | $24,30715 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $11 | $21,46516 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 30th percentile of 49 cardiovascular disease providers in Montana.
Other cardiovascular disease in Kalispell
- Robert MitchellKalispell$23K
- Rawa SarjiKalispell$2K
- Eve GillespieKalispell$1K
- Alexis HarrisonKalispell$1K
- Joseph KrezowskiKalispell$1K
- David RothKalispell$18
- Benjamin PlankBillings$46K
- Alrich GrayGreat Falls$34K
- Jocelyn SpoonMissoula$17K
- Patricia KellyMissoula$12K
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.