Aziz Chami, MD
Nephrology · Louisville, KYNPI 1578672507
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.9% of the total across 306 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 27 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 15.2% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 306 payments — averaging $18.24 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$849
- Amgen$812
- AstraZeneca$743
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$642
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$588
- Bayer$475
- plus $1K from 21 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$5,52299%
- Education$601%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 66 | $849 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 42 | $812 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 38 | $743 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 26 | $642 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 33 | $588 |
| Bayer | 30 | $475 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 10 | $218 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 9 | $213 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 8 | $143 |
| GSK | 8 | $140 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 5 | $120 |
| Novartis | 4 | $106 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $77 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $66 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 3 | $63 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 3 | $48 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $30 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $25 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $15 |
| Merck | 1 | $14 |
How this compares
$5,582 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 165 nephrology providers in Kentucky.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 73 | $71,132 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 77 | $57,061 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 16 | $33,715 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 31 | $24,947 |
| EliquisApixaban | 14 | $21,873 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 83 | $15,644 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 12 | $10,302 |
| Bumetanide | 40 | $2,765 |
| Eplerenone | 21 | $2,686 |
| Torsemide | 45 | $1,907 |
| Losartan Potassium | 139 | $872 |
| Furosemide | 176 | $714 |
| Spironolactone | 76 | $669 |
| Calcitriol | 51 | $572 |
| Allopurinol | 45 | $427 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $743 | $67,36389 claims |
| Akebia Therapeutics IncAuryxia | $30 | $33,71516 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $475 | $24,94731 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $15 | $21,87314 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 85th percentile of 165 nephrology providers in Kentucky.
Other nephrology in Louisville
- Danny WooLouisville$427K
- Dawn CasterLouisville$193K
- Nizar AttallahLouisville$113K
- Shafic Abdul Wahab El HindiLouisville$45K
- George AronoffLouisville$26K
- Jai BhimaniLouisville$10K
- Alexander AfanasyevLouisville$10K
- William DuffLouisville$9K
- Bhagwan BhimaniLouisville$7K
- John GleasonLouisville$5K
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.