Val Rakita, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Philadelphia, PANPI 1215220520
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $9,210 of the $11,406 with a category attached, or 80.7%. 16 manufacturers reported payments, led by Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. at 30.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $3,084 and has fallen 74.1% since, to $798 in 2025.
Across 177 payments — averaging $64.44 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.$3K
- Abbott$3K
- One Lambda, Inc.$2K
- Abiomed$870
- Novartis$603
- AstraZeneca$504
- plus $1K from 10 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,19619%
- Food & beverage$9,21081%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 68 | $3,494 |
| Abbott | 36 | $3,235 |
| One Lambda, Inc. | 4 | $1,545 |
| Abiomed | 14 | $870 |
| Novartis | 35 | $603 |
| AstraZeneca | 5 | $504 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 3 | $350 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $154 |
| Daxor Corporation | 1 | $128 |
| Anumana, Inc. | 1 | $116 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $116 |
| Merck | 1 | $97 |
| Nuwellis, Inc. | 1 | $70 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 2 | $63 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $34 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 2 | $28 |
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.
- OPTIMIZER$2,472
- CARDIOMEMS$1,233
- HeartMate$397
- Impella$377
- LOKELMA$365
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$351
- OPTIMIZER SMART SYSTEM$330
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$257
- ONYX FRONTIER$140
- HeartWare HVAD$128
- BVA-100$128
- ENTRESTO$122
- AVVIGO Guidance System$122
- FARXIGA$122
- ECG-AI LEF$116
- NEXLETOL$116
How this compares
$11,406 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 96 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Pennsylvania.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Pennsylvania →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 353 | $331,347 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 123 | $102,521 |
| EliquisApixaban | 112 | $92,788 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 28 | $22,776 |
| Isosorbide Dinitrate | 51 | $12,423 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 11 | $4,767 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 231 | $2,893 |
| Bumetanide | 73 | $2,317 |
| Valsartan | 34 | $2,187 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 116 | $1,939 |
| Isosorbide Mononitrate ErIsosorbide Mononitrate | 116 | $1,932 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 168 | $1,501 |
| Spironolactone | 292 | $1,419 |
| Tacrolimus | 23 | $1,264 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 34 | $1,255 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| NovartisEntresto | $603 | $331,347353 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $504 | $107,287134 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $34 | $92,788112 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 60th percentile of 96 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Pennsylvania.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Philadelphia
- Anjali VaidyaPhiladelphia$762K
- Jesus RamePhiladelphia$336K
- Ileana PinaPhiladelphia$284K
- Jeremy MazurekPhiladelphia$142K
- Lee GoldbergPhiladelphia$130K
- Anjali OwensPhiladelphia$109K
- Behnam BozorgniaPhiladelphia$107K
- Joyce WaldPhiladelphia$97K
- Paul MatherPhiladelphia$55K
- Hansie MathelierPhiladelphia$43K
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.