Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Hunter Champion, M.D.
Cardiovascular Disease · Columbus, GA
Practice pattern: Cardiac & Cardiac
— Practice combining cardiac and cardiac services
Speaking/Promotional
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. Champion 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. Champion
Dr. Hunter Champion is a cardiovascular disease specialist in Columbus, GA, with 20 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Champion performed 10,424 Medicare services across 8,210 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Champion received a total of $1,368,640 from 47 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 2121 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in cardiovascular disease. The majority of payments are for speaking programs and promotional activities, reflecting participation in industry-sponsored events. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Champion 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.
✓ 20 years in practice
▲ Top 2% volume in GA
$1,368,640 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗10,424
Medicare services
Top 2% in GA for cardiovascular disease
8,210
Unique beneficiaries
$71
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →
~521 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic An ultrasound of the heart that uses color to show blood flow, rate, direction, and valve function. |
2,272 | $140 | $740 |
| Central arterial pressure analysis with physician review This procedure involves analyzing pressure within the central arteries and includes a review of the results by a physician. |
1,810 | $11 | $60 |
| 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. |
1,447 | $91 | $370 |
| Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead A standard heart rhythm test using at least 12 leads to record electrical activity. A healthcare provider interprets the results and provides a written report. |
1,275 | $9 | $93 |
| Advance care planning consultation, first 30 min A session focused on discussing and documenting future healthcare preferences and goals. This service covers the initial 30 minutes of the planning discussion. |
979 | $61 | $245 |
| Remote pacemaker/defibrillator monitoring, 90 days Remote evaluation of a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator system within 90 days of the last check. |
307 | $14 | $90 |
| Airflow rate measurement test A test that measures the rate of airflow. This procedure assesses how quickly air moves. |
303 | $28 | $110 |
| Exercise stress test A test that monitors the heart and lungs while the patient exercises to evaluate their function under physical stress. |
303 | $105 | $440 |
| Blood draw (venipuncture) Insertion of a needle into a vein to collect a blood sample. |
268 | $8 | $15 |
| 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. |
202 | $107 | $481 |
| Remote pacemaker monitoring, 90 days Remote assessment of a pacemaker system, including single, dual, multiple lead, or leadless devices, performed up to 90 days apart. |
178 | $21 | $120 |
| 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. |
145 | $123 | $518 |
| Continuous ECG monitoring, up to 30 days Continuous heart rhythm monitoring for up to 30 days, including professional review and reporting of the results. |
141 | $19 | $90 |
| 30-day continuous ECG with patient-triggered event transmission and review This procedure involves continuous electrocardiogram monitoring for up to 30 days, including the transmission of patient-triggered events. A healthcare professional reviews the data and provides a report. |
139 | $600 | $875 |
| Perflutren lipid microspheres injection Injection of perflutren lipid microspheres, measured per milliliter. |
136 | $35 | $100 |
| Remote evaluation of implantable defibrillator system Remote assessment of a single, dual, or multiple lead implantable defibrillator system within 90 days of the previous evaluation. |
131 | $24 | $220 |
| Smoking cessation counseling, 4-10 minutes A brief counseling session focused on helping patients quit smoking and tobacco use. The provider spends 4 to 10 minutes discussing strategies and support for cessation. |
91 | $14 | $44 |
| New patient office visit, complex (60-74 min) | 66 | $157 | $636 |
| Remote patient monitoring management, 20 min/month Management based on results from remote vital sign monitoring for the first 20 minutes per calendar month. |
64 | $34 | $142 |
| Remote patient monitoring device, 30 days Initial setup of devices for remote monitoring of body functions with daily data transmission or alerts. This service covers the first 30 days of the monitoring period. |
59 | $33 | $166 |
| Pacemaker programming, dual lead system Adjustment and configuration of a dual-lead pacemaker device to ensure proper operation and settings. |
49 | $25 | $130 |
| Programming of multiple lead implantable defibrillator system Adjustment and testing of the settings for an implanted heart device with multiple leads to ensure proper function. |
23 | $41 | $210 |
| Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) An office visit for an existing patient lasting between 20 and 29 minutes. The visit involves medical evaluation and management of the patient's condition. |
19 | $38 | $260 |
| Heart muscle strain imaging | 17 | $26 | $97 |
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.
28.4% high complexity
4.4% medium
67.2% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$1,368,640
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $195,520/year across 7 years
Top 0% in GA for cardiovascular disease
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
47
Companies
2,121
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.
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$1,318,205 (96.3%)
Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$32,448 (2.4%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$10,008 (0.7%)
Other
Charitable contributions, space rental, and other categories
$7,980 (0.6%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024
$283,893
2023
$171,096
2022
$228,427
2021
$169,097
2020
$119,764
2019
$140,802
2018
$255,561
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.
$105,411
United Therapeutics Corporation
$55,797
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$47,701
SCPHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$44,292
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$23,527
Asklepios Biopharmaceutical Inc.
$3,713
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$2,026
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$630
Abbott Laboratories
$155
Novo Nordisk Inc
$133
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
$105
Daiichi Sankyo Inc.
$97
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$91
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$69
PFIZER INC.
$55
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$31
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$25
Innovation Technologies Inc
$22
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc
$14
Top 3 companies account for 73.6% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.
$647,622
United Therapeutics Corporation
$358,128
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$133,177
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$47,714
SCPHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$44,292
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$33,843
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$23,323
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$22,795
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$12,738
PFIZER INC.
$10,886
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$10,468
Asklepios Biopharmaceutical Inc.
$7,980
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$5,058
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$2,538
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$2,376
Abbott Laboratories
$1,036
Amgen Inc.
$667
Novo Nordisk Inc
$462
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
$404
Boston Scientific Corporation
$386
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$378
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$289
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$196
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$191
Braemar Manufacturing, LLC
$172
Philips Electronics North America Corporation
$166
Daiichi Sankyo Inc.
$156
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$151
Sandoz Inc.
$146
ATRICURE, INC.
$126
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.
$125
Lundbeck LLC
$121
GE HealthCare
$86
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$68
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.
$61
Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.
$48
Relypsa, Inc.
$41
ABIOMED
$39
Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
$38
EKOS Corporation
$29
Allergan Inc.
$23
Innovation Technologies Inc
$22
iRhythm Technologies, Inc.
$20
CVRx, Inc.
$16
Shockwave Medical, Inc
$14
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc
$14
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
$12
Top 3 companies account for 83.2% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
(5044) MCOT · (7999) SRC Undivided · AMPLATZER AMULET · AMVUTTRA · ANDEXXA · ASSURITY · Adempas · Allure CRT Pacemaker · Arcalyst · Assurity Pacemaker · BRILINTA · BYSTOLIC · Barostim Neo System · BodyGuardian · CAMZYOS · CARDIOMEMS · CHANTIX · CONFIRM RX · CRT-Ds · Cardiac Monitoring Suite · CardioMEMS HF System · Confirm Rx · Connectivity and Remote care · Corlanor · DEFINITY · DreamStat Cpap Auto · EKOSONIC · ELIQUIS · EMBLEM · ENTRESTO · EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX · Ellipse ICD · FARXIGA · FUROSCIX · Fortify Assura · GALLANT · Giraffe OmniBed Carestation · HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev · HeartMate Touch · INJECTAFER · INSPIRE · INVOKANA · IRRISEPT · Impella · Inpefa · JARDIANCE · Kerendia · LEQVIO · LEXISCAN · Letairis · LifeVest · Livalo · MERLIN@HOME · MITRACLIP · MULTAQ · Merlin Connectivity and Remote · NEXLETOL · NEXLIZET · NONE · NORTHERA · ONPATTRO · OPSUMIT · OPSUMIT MACITENTAN · ORENITRAM · Ozempic · PRADAXA · PRALUENT · PRALUENT ALIROCUMAB INJECTION · Quadra Assura CRT Defibrillator · REMODULIN · RESONATE · RYBELSUS · Repatha · Rybelsus · S-ICD System Magnet · SQ RX PULSE GENERATOR · THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT · TREPROSTINIL · TYVASO · UPTRAVI · VERQUVO · VIABAHN VBX Balloon Expandable Endoprosthesis · VYNDAQEL · Vascepa · Vascular Lithotripsy · Veltassa · Verquvo · WATCHMAN · WATCHMAN Access System · WINREVAIR · Wegovy · XARELTO · ZIO XT Patch
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 →
The majority of payments (96%) are for speaking programs and promotional activities, which reflect participation in industry-sponsored educational or marketing events. This is common in cardiovascular disease and does not inherently indicate bias, but patients may wish to be aware. Total industry engagement is in the top 0% for cardiovascular disease in GA.
Geographic Context
Cardiologists within 10 mi
19
Per 100K population
9.3
County median income
$56,622
Nearest hospital
JACK HUGHSTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
4.0 mi
4.0 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. Champion is a cardiac & cardiac specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 2% in GA), with speaking/promotional industry engagement in the top 0% of GA peers, with 20 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. Champion experienced with echocardiogram, transthoracic?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Champion performed 2,272 echocardiogram, transthoracic 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. Champion receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Champion received a total of $1,368,640 from 47 companies across 2,121 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. Champion's costs compare to other cardiologists in Columbus?
Dr. Champion's average Medicare payment per service is $71. 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. Champion) 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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