Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD
Neurological Surgery · Palo Alto, CA
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology
— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Mixed engagement
Very High
DATA COVERAGE
Data in 4 of 4 federal sources
Measures public federal data availability — not provider quality
Informational, not a quality rating.
This page presents federal public records about Dr. Veeravagu from CMS (NPPES, Open Payments, Medicare Provider Utilization, PECOS). It is not medical advice, an endorsement, or a judgment of clinical quality. Always consult the provider directly and a licensed clinician for medical decisions. Read methodology →
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What this data tells you about Dr. Veeravagu
Dr. Anand Veeravagu is a neurological surgery specialist in Palo Alto, CA, with 17 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Veeravagu performed 1,047 Medicare services across 806 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Veeravagu received a total of $1,246,633 from 18 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 827 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in neurological surgery. The majority of payments are classified as financial or ownership interests (royalties, licensing fees, or investment interests). Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Veeravagu is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.
✓ 17 years in practice
▲ Top 9% volume in CA
$1,246,633 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗1,047
Medicare services
Top 9% in CA for neurological surgery
806
Unique beneficiaries
$276
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →
~62 Medicare services per year of practice
Top procedures by volume
Ranked by number of services performed for Medicare patients. Avg. submitted charge is what the provider billed; avg. Medicare payment is what CMS paid.
| Procedure | Volume | Avg. paid | Avg. submitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| New patient office visit (45-59 min) An initial office visit for a new patient lasting between 45 and 59 minutes. This code covers the total time spent by the physician or qualified healthcare professional on the date of the encounter. |
236 | $113 | $340 |
| Spinal fusion of additional segment A surgical procedure to join an additional section of the spine to the existing fusion. This is performed as a separate or subsequent step to stabilize more of the spinal column. |
210 | $336 | $2,324 |
| Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) A follow-up office visit for an existing patient lasting between 30 and 39 minutes. The visit involves medical evaluation and management of the patient's condition. |
143 | $84 | $348 |
| Spine fusion with cage or mesh device insertion A surgical procedure to fuse spine bones by inserting a cage or mesh device into the disc space. |
56 | $223 | $1,024 |
| Partial removal of spine bone with nerve release, each additional segment This procedure involves the partial removal of spinal bone to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. It is billed for each additional spinal segment treated beyond the initial segment. |
46 | $182 | $1,942 |
| Computer-assisted spinal procedure A surgical or diagnostic procedure involving the spine that utilizes computer technology to assist with planning, navigation, or execution. |
37 | $197 | $997 |
| Aspiration of bone marrow for spine bone graft | 35 | $62 | $278 |
| Spinal stabilization device placement, 3-6 segments Surgical placement of a device to stabilize three to six vertebrae in the back. |
30 | $659 | $4,965 |
| Anterior spinal fusion with partial disc removal, each additional disc This procedure involves fusing spine bones together through an incision in the front of the body, with partial removal of the disc, for each additional disc treated. |
26 | $192 | $2,080 |
| Initial hospital admission, moderate complexity Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving moderate-level medical decision making, with at least 55 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
24 | $119 | $524 |
| Anterior lumbar interbody fusion with partial disc removal A surgical procedure to fuse the lower spine bones by accessing the area through the abdomen and partially removing a spinal disc. |
23 | $545 | $8,512 |
| Spinal fusion of neck, posterior approach A surgical procedure to join two or more vertebrae in the cervical spine using a back approach to stabilize the neck. |
23 | $910 | $6,759 |
| Fusion of spine in lower back | 23 | $1,318 | $8,691 |
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) An office or outpatient visit for an existing patient lasting between 40 and 54 minutes. This level of service is determined by the total time spent on the date of the encounter. |
21 | $127 | $350 |
| Initial hospital admission, low complexity Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving straightforward or low-level medical decision making, with at least 40 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
21 | $76 | $360 |
| Spinal stabilization device placement, 7-12 segments Surgical placement of a device to stabilize the back involving 7 to 12 spine bone segments. |
20 | $705 | $5,400 |
| Initial hospital admission, high complexity Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving high-level medical decision making, with at least 75 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
19 | $162 | $757 |
| Partial removal of spine bone with nerve release, 1 segment A surgical procedure involving the partial removal of a bone segment in the spine to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. This is performed on a single spinal segment. |
17 | $767 | $6,822 |
| Spinal fusion, upper back A surgical procedure to join two or more vertebrae in the upper back to eliminate motion between them. |
13 | $681 | $6,666 |
| Spinal stabilization device placement, 2-3 segments Surgical placement of a device to stabilize the front of two to three spinal segments. |
12 | $626 | $4,414 |
| Partial removal of spine bone with nerve release, 1 segment Surgical removal of part of the spinal bone to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves in one segment. |
12 | $584 | $7,656 |
How to read this data: This reflects Medicare patients only (typically 65+). Payment amounts are what Medicare paid the provider, not your out-of-pocket cost. A higher procedure volume generally indicates more experience with that procedure.
35.7% high complexity
0.0% medium
64.3% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$1,246,633
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $178,090/year across 7 years
Top 1% in CA for neurological surgery
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
18
Companies
827
Individual payments
All payments are legal and publicly reported · Not evidence of wrongdoing · How to interpret →
Payment profile
Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.
Financial / Ownership
Ownership or investment interests, royalties, and licensing fees
$889,997 (71.4%)
Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$299,074 (24.0%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$47,465 (3.8%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$10,097 (0.8%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024
$50,568
2023
$268,569
2022
$297,444
2021
$366,405
2020
$69,780
2019
$83,160
2018
$110,708
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Alphatec Spine, Inc
$19,105
Globus Medical, Inc.
$12,668
OsteoCentric Technologies, Inc.
$10,142
Medtronic, Inc.
$8,625
Stryker Corporation
$28
Top 3 companies account for 82.9% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
NuVasive, Inc.
$1,036,631
Medical Device Business Services, Inc.
$48,920
Medtronic USA, Inc.
$39,490
Medtronic, Inc.
$32,767
OsteoCentric Technologies, Inc.
$29,089
Alphatec Spine, Inc
$20,980
Globus Medical, Inc.
$15,452
Stryker Corporation
$13,290
Ethicon Inc.
$4,927
DePuy Synthes Products LLC
$1,918
Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.
$1,500
Synthes GmbH
$1,227
BAXTER HEALTHCARE
$104
SI-BONE, Inc.
$102
DePuy Synthes Sales Inc.
$82
SI-BONE, INC.
$63
Vertebral Technologies, Inc.
$50
Abbott Laboratories
$41
Top 3 companies account for 90.2% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ACP · ADHERUS AUTOSPRAY ET DURAL SEALANT · ALIF · ALTERA · ANTERALIGN SPINAL SYSTEM WITH TITAN NANOLOCK SURFACE TECHNOLOGY · AttraX · BACS · BASE · Battalion TLIF - PC · Bendini · CAPRI · CAPRI CORPECTOMY CAGE SYSTEM · CASCADIA · CD HORIZON SPINAL SYSTEM · COHERE · CONCORDE · CONDUIT · CREO 5.5 · DIVERGENCE-L · EVEREST · EVEREST SPINAL SYSTEM · EVEREST XT · EVICEL · EXPEDIUM · Excelsius3D Imaging System · ExcelsiusGPS Robotic Navigation System · FLOSEAL · Hedron IA · IdentiTi · InterFuse · Invictus OPEN · LIF · LessRay · MAZOR X SYSTEM · MIDAS REX · MaXcess · MaXcess-C · Mazor X Stealth Edition · MazorX - Renaissance · MazorX Renaissance · Modulus · N/A · NAVIGATION · NVM5 · NuVaMap · NuVasive Power · Nuvaline/NuvaMap O.R. · O-ARM-ST · O-ARM-Spine · OsteoCentric 4.0 x 130mm LOCKING BONE SCREW FASTENER ST · Other - Miscellaneous · PENTERO · PIVOX Oblique Lateral Spinal System · POWER · PROLENE Products · Proclaim Family of SCS IPGs · Propel · Pulse · RELINE · STRATAFIX · Simplify Cervical Artificial Disc · TLIF · TRITANIUM · UNID_PASS · Unifi Technology · VIPER · VuePoint · X-CORE · XLIF · YUKON · iGA
Should you be concerned? Payments from pharmaceutical and device companies are legal and common — 57% of U.S. physicians receive at least one. They often reflect legitimate consulting, research, or education. What matters is whether a recommended drug or device appears in your doctor's payment records. If so, consider asking your doctor about it. How to interpret this data →
Payments are distributed across multiple categories with no single dominant type. Total industry engagement is in the top 1% for neurological surgery in CA.
Geographic Context
Neurological surgerists within 10 mi
144
Per 100K population
7.6
County median income
$159,674
Nearest hospital
PALO ALTO VA MEDICAL CENTER
0.0 mi
0.0 mi
Data Sources
| Provider Registry | ✓ NPPES | Weekly updates |
| Medicare Enrollment | ✓ PECOS | Monthly updates |
| Practice Data | ✓ Medicare Util. | Annual (CY lag) |
| Industry Payments | ✓ Open Payments | CY 2024 |
| Disciplinary History | — Not public | N/A |
This provider has data in 4 of 4 available federal datasets, with a Data Coverage level of Very High. This reflects how much public data is available about a provider. How we calculate this →
Summary
Dr. Veeravagu is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 9% in CA), with mixed engagement industry engagement in the top 1% of CA peers, with 17 years of NPI registration.
This summary is auto-generated from federal data, describing data availability and patterns. Read our methodology →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dr. Veeravagu experienced with new patient office visit (45-59 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Veeravagu performed 236 new patient office visit (45-59 min) services. Research suggests that higher procedure volume is often associated with better outcomes, particularly for complex procedures. Note that Medicare data only captures patients aged 65 and older, so the total practice volume across all patients is likely higher.
Does Dr. Veeravagu receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Veeravagu received a total of $1,246,633 from 18 companies across 827 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common among physicians — 57% of all U.S. physicians receive at least one industry payment. Patients may wish to ask their doctor about these relationships, especially if a recommended drug or device appears in the payment records.
How do Dr. Veeravagu's costs compare to other neurological surgerists in Palo Alto?
Dr. Veeravagu's average Medicare payment per service is $276. Note that these figures represent what Medicare pays, not your out-of-pocket cost, which depends on your specific insurance plan and deductible. Procedure-level data above shows both what was submitted and what Medicare paid for each service type.
What does Data Coverage mean?
Data Coverage (currently Very High for Dr. Veeravagu) measures how much public federal data is available about a provider. It is not a quality rating. A "Very High" or "High" level means the provider has data across multiple federal sources (NPPES, PECOS, Medicare Utilization, Open Payments), indicating a long track record of practice, Medicare participation, and industry disclosure. A "Low" or "Moderate" level may simply mean the provider is newer, does not see Medicare patients, or has not received any industry payments — none of which are inherently negative. Read our full methodology →
Is this data up to date?
Each data source has its own update cycle. Provider registry data (NPPES) is updated weekly. Medicare enrollment (PECOS) is updated monthly. Medicare practice data has a ~2 year lag — the most recent available is typically 2 years prior. Industry payment data (Open Payments) is published annually, usually in June, covering the prior calendar year. We display the data date prominently on each section so you always know how current it is. See our data freshness policy →
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About this page
All data on this page is sourced verbatim from public federal records published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): NPPES ↗, Open Payments ↗, Medicare Provider Utilization ↗, and PECOS. Publication is mandated by the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (§6002 ACA, 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7h) and the Freedom of Information Act.
This page is not medical advice, an endorsement, a recommendation, or a quality rating. Data Coverage reflects data completeness — how much federal information exists for this provider — not clinical performance, patient outcomes, or quality of care. Always verify information directly with the provider and consult a licensed clinician before making medical decisions.
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