Asher Kupperman, MD
Surgery of the Hand · Santa Barbara, CANPI 1104141993
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 29 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Stryker at 25.4% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for surgery of the hand clinicians in CA, where the typical reported total is $1,557.
Across 29 payments — averaging $48.25 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$355
- Johnson & Johnson$315
- Endo USA, Inc.$172
- Integra Lifesciences Corporation$147
- Skeletal Dynamics Inc$118
- Fidia Pharma USA Inc.$95
- plus $196 from 5 others
Across 8 payments — averaging $8208.00 each. An ownership or investment interest held by the physician or an immediate family member.
- Lazurite Inc.$66K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,399100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker | 5 | $355 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $315 |
| Endo USA, Inc. | 2 | $172 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $147 |
| Skeletal Dynamics Inc | 1 | $118 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 5 | $95 |
| Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 5 | $74 |
| Bioventus LLC | 2 | $42 |
| DJO, LLC | 2 | $34 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $26 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
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.
- EXPAREL$227
- PANGEA$158
- XIAFLEX$150
- OMNIGRAFT$147
- PRIMATRIX$147
- MEDIHONEY$147
- TCC-EZ$147
- AMNIOEXCEL$147
- VA-LCP$119
- HAMMERLOCK$119
- NA$119
- TFN-Advance$119
- Geminus$118
- Align$118
- IJS$118
- Implate$118
- TFN ADVANCED$109
- BME NITINOL CONTINUOUS COMPRESSION IMPLANTS$109
- HEADLESS COMPRESSION SCREWS$109
- VA-LCP PLATES & SCREWS$109
How this compares
$1,399 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 76 surgery of the hand providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 12 | $99 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 14 | $60 |
| Meloxicam | 16 | $36 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other surgery of the hand in Santa Barbara
- Jessica Cohen-BrownSanta Barbara$595
- Bauback SafaSan Francisco$172K
- Emily Perezla Mirada$56K
- Joshua GluckVentura$26K
- Howard SutkinLos Gatos$22K
- Aaron BergerOakland$14K
- Nicole ConklingOrange$14K
- Marie DuschSanta Maria$11K
- Andre IshakOxnard$11K
- Alfonso CamberosSan Diego$10K
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.