Vernon Cotten, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Jackson, MSNPI 1164466082
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $8,747 of the $10,205 with a category attached, or 85.7%. 34 manufacturers reported payments, led by Novartis at 25.3% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $3,137 and has fallen 60.4% since, to $1,241 in 2025.
Across 514 payments — averaging $19.85 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novartis$3K
- Boston Scientific$2K
- Amgen$773
- Merck$529
- Pfizer$492
- Novo Nordisk$492
- plus $3K from 28 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,44514%
- Food & beverage$8,74786%
- Education$120%
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 | 194 | $2,580 |
| Boston Scientific | 20 | $2,424 |
| Amgen | 54 | $773 |
| Merck | 26 | $529 |
| Pfizer | 31 | $492 |
| Novo Nordisk | 15 | $492 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 23 | $402 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 29 | $388 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 19 | $353 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 25 | $269 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 10 | $258 |
| AstraZeneca | 8 | $139 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 8 | $124 |
| Bayer | 5 | $104 |
| GE HealthCare | 2 | $86 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $80 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 5 | $70 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 4 | $66 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $65 |
| Gilead | 5 | $63 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 4 | $62 |
| Philips North America LLC | 4 | $60 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 3 | $54 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 2 | $39 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $33 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Braemar Manufacturing, LLC | 1 | $26 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. | 1 | $11 |
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.
- WATCHMAN Access System$1,889
- Repatha$125
- Watchman$110
- ONPATTRO$106
- CAMZYOS$102
How this compares
$10,205 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 144 cardiovascular disease providers in Mississippi.
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 | 852 | $781,521 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 290 | $275,891 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 303 | $242,280 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 194 | $154,024 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 82 | $71,569 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 82 | $66,150 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 40 | $28,403 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 28 | $22,049 |
| Ezetimibe | 574 | $12,616 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 152 | $12,185 |
| Telmisartan | 191 | $6,009 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 479 | $5,847 |
| Dabigatran EtexilateDabigatran Etexilate Mesylate | 22 | $5,544 |
| Isosorbide Dinitrate | 83 | $4,871 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 411 | $3,975 |
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 | $492 | $781,521852 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $2,580 | $275,891290 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $388 | $242,280303 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $139 | $94,553122 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $402 | $71,56982 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 75th percentile of 144 cardiovascular disease providers in Mississippi.
Other cardiovascular disease in Jackson
- Donny StokesJackson$207K
- James BenslerJackson$64K
- Michael HallJackson$54K
- Tahsin QarqishJackson$39K
- Christopher LatourJackson$33K
- Varun SardarJackson$31K
- Olurotimi BaderoJackson$20K
- Michael PaymentJackson$16K
- James HaysJackson$16K
- Douglas HarkinsJackson$14K
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.