Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Mark Epler, M.D.

Thoracic Surgery · Lancaster, PA
Practice pattern: Interventional & Cardiac — Practice combining interventional and cardiac services
540 N DUKE ST, Lancaster, PA 17602
7175444995
Registered in NPPES since 2007
NPI: 1568678894 verify on NPPES ↗
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. Epler 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. Epler

Dr. Mark Epler is a thoracic surgery specialist in Lancaster, PA, with 19 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Epler performed 50 Medicare services in 2023. These records do not provide a deduplicated patient total.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Epler received a total of $5,961 from 7 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 45 payment records. A record can group multiple payments. These transfers are publicly reported through CMS Open Payments. Disclosure alone does not establish their effect on care. A reliable breakdown by payment category is not available in this snapshot. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Epler 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.

✓ 19 years of NPI registration ▲ 50 Medicare services $5,961 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary — 2023

Medicare Utilization ↗
50
Medicare services
Bottom 18% in PA for thoracic surgery
Lower Medicare volume may reflect subspecialty focus, hospital-based work, or a higher share of non-Medicare patients.
Not available
Unique patients (not deduplicated)
$221
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →

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
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.
24 $133 $402
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement via femoral artery
A minimally invasive procedure to replace a diseased aortic heart valve using a catheter inserted through the skin and femoral artery.
14 $549 $4,170
Endoscopic vein harvest
A surgical procedure to remove a vein using an endoscope, which is a thin, lighted tube inserted through small incisions.
12 $12 $51
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. These counts do not measure clinical quality or years of experience.
28.0% high complexity
0.0% medium
72.0% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$5,961
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $993/year across 6 years
Top 43% in PA for thoracic surgery
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
7
Companies
45
Payment records
Payments are publicly reported; disclosure does not establish legality · Not evidence of wrongdoing · How to interpret →

Payment categories are unavailable while the source breakdown is being rebuilt. Company and year totals do not identify how much belongs to each category.

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$1,314
2023
$452
2022
$414
2020
$40
2019
$682
2018
$3,059

Payments by company (2024)

ATRICURE, INC.
$989
Bolton Medical Inc
$153
ABIOMED
$150
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$22
Top 3 companies account for 98.4% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$3,833
ATRICURE, INC.
$1,334
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$204
ABIOMED
$179
Bolton Medical Inc
$153
Corcym Inc
$147
Abbott Laboratories
$110
Top 3 companies account for 90.1% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM · Carpentier-Edwards PERIMOUNT Magna Mitral Ease Pericardial Valve · CoreValve Evolut · EDWARDS INTUITY Elite valve system · EDWARDS SAPIEN 3 TRANSCATHETER HEART VALVE (THV) · EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX · Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve · HeartWare HVAD · Impella · MITRIS RESILIA Mitral Valve · PERCEVAL · SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA · SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM · THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT · TREO ABDOMINAL STENT-GRAFT SYSTEM · Trifecta GT Tissue Heart Valve
Should you be concerned? Industry payments are disclosed through CMS Open Payments. Disclosure alone does not establish their purpose, legality, or effect on care. 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 →
Looking for a thoracic surgery specialist in Lancaster?
Compare thoracic surgerists in the Lancaster area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
Browse thoracic surgerists nearby

Geographic Context

Thoracic surgerists in nearby ZIP areas
9
County median income
$83,703
Nearest hospital to ZIP centroid (approximate)
LANCASTER GENERAL HOSPITAL
0.0 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry NPPES NPPES snapshot; verify current record
Medicare Enrollment PECOS PECOS snapshot
Practice Data Medicare Util. Annual (CY lag)
Industry Payments Open Payments CY 2024
Disciplinary History — Not included 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. Epler is an interventional & cardiac specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with 19 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. Epler experienced with initial hospital admission, high complexity?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Epler performed 24 initial hospital admission, high complexity services. These records cover Medicare fee-for-service activity, including eligible younger beneficiaries; they do not measure total practice volume or clinical quality.
Does Dr. Epler receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Epler received a total of $5,961 from 7 companies across 45 payment records. A record can group multiple payments. These transfers are publicly disclosed through CMS Open Payments. Disclosure alone does not establish their legality or effect on care. 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. Epler's costs compare to other thoracic surgerists in Lancaster?
Dr. Epler's average Medicare payment per service is $221. 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. Epler) 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 the presence of registry, enrollment, activity or payment records, not verified experience or clinical quality. 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?
Source publication dates and the snapshots loaded on this site can differ. Rebuilding a page does not refresh its source records. Check the Medicare reporting year and the payment interval shown above; consult the linked official sources for newer releases and current registry details. See our data freshness policy →
About this page

This page combines public CMS records with calculated summaries and explanatory procedure labels. These transformations are not verbatim federal records. Sources: 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.

Provider corrections: Provider portal · Privacy questions: Privacy Policy · Terms: Terms of Use · Methodology: Methodology

Data Disclaimer — Data sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), Open Payments program, Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data, and Provider Enrollment & Certification data (PECOS). Published under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This website is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by CMS, HHS, or the U.S. Government. Data may contain errors as reported to CMS by providers and reporting entities. Industry payment disclosure alone establishes neither wrongdoing nor legality. Medicare data reflects only patients aged 65+ or those with qualifying disabilities. For corrections, contact CMS directly. This information does not constitute medical advice and should not be used as the sole basis for choosing a healthcare provider. Procedure descriptions use plain language and do not reference CPT® codes, which are copyrighted by the American Medical Association. Full methodology → · Report a data error → · Privacy policy →