Alex Rikhter, MD
Internal Medicine · Atlanta, GANPI 1346226784
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.7% of the total across 353 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 42 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.7% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $2,318 and has fallen 66.7% since, to $771 in 2025. Among internal medicine clinicians in GA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 353 payments — averaging $23.11 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$1K
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$1K
- Amgen$640
- Johnson & Johnson$388
- AbbVie$345
- plus $3K from 36 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$8,137100%
- Education$210%
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.
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.
How this compares
$8,158 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 3,311 internal medicine providers in Georgia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 113 | $168,271 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 56 | $62,198 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 32 | $40,198 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 14 | $40,098 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 23 | $38,971 |
| Xultophy 100-3.6Insulin Degludec/Liraglutide | 24 | $37,669 |
| EliquisApixaban | 24 | $30,973 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 27 | $29,515 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 21 | $29,187 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 20 | $20,529 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 15 | $16,837 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 18 | $16,799 |
| CreonLipase/Protease/Amylase | 18 | $15,463 |
| Soliqua 100-33Insulin Glargine/Lixisenatide | 14 | $12,274 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 16 | $9,867 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus, Xultophy 100-3.6 | $1,443 | $246,038151 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $126 | $62,19856 claims |
| PfizerEliquis, Paxlovid, Abrysvo, Premarin | $318 | $53,007116 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess, Creon, Synthroid | $345 | $41,14792 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $1,028 | $40,19832 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $19 | $38,97123 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $388 | $29,51527 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $96 | $29,18721 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Shingrix | $186 | $20,17034 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCSoliqua 100-33 | $241 | $12,27414 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 90th percentile of 3,311 internal medicine providers in Georgia.
Other internal medicine in Atlanta
- Tracey HenryAtlanta$305K
- Scott ParryAtlanta$162K
- Jennifer GilliganAtlanta$162K
- Tanna LimAtlanta$88K
- Sally IwamotoAtlanta$60K
- Antoine TrammellAtlanta$33K
- Samuel AdamsAtlanta$30K
- Jamal HajjariAtlanta$29K
- Carlos SaldanaAtlanta$25K
- Michael HicksonAtlanta$22K
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.