Ben Wehrli, DPM
Foot & Ankle Surgery · Palm Desert, CANPI 1013151331
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — royalties or licence payments (46.4%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 28 manufacturers reported payments, led by Fusion Orthopedics USA, LLC at 41.6% of the total. Among foot & ankle surgery clinicians in CA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 291 payments — averaging $1320.91 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Fusion Orthopedics USA, LLC$160K
- Trilliant Surgical LLC.$83K
- Stryker$64K
- Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Inc.$41K
- Encore Medical, LP$13K
- Fusion Orthopedics, LLC.$12K
- plus $11K from 22 others
What the payments were for
- Royalty or licence$178,22946%
- Consulting fees$154,49640%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5,0001%
- Travel & lodging$36,58010%
- Food & beverage$7,0792%
- Education$3,0001%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fusion Orthopedics USA, LLC | 37 | $160,013 |
| Trilliant Surgical LLC. | 40 | $83,129 |
| Stryker(2 entities) | 76 | $63,995 |
| Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Inc. | 34 | $40,830 |
| Encore Medical, LP | 9 | $13,208 |
| Fusion Orthopedics, LLC. | 6 | $11,925 |
| Exactech, Inc. | 10 | $7,288 |
| Nevro Corp. | 23 | $1,954 |
| Medshape, Inc. | 6 | $699 |
| Globus Medical | 10 | $292 |
| Smith+Nephew | 5 | $171 |
| Organogenesis Inc. | 6 | $170 |
| Bioventus LLC | 3 | $167 |
| Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $82 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $60 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $55 |
| Amgen | 3 | $48 |
| Biowound Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $46 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $37 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 2 | $33 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $28 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $24 |
| Acell, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Curonix LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Axogen | 1 | $14 |
| Abbott | 1 | $12 |
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.
- STAR$62,372
- MIB$54,316
- MiniLock and TailorsLock$52,979
- MiniLock$49,495
- Tailors Bunion Nail$46,695
- Arsenal$12,237
- Minimally Invasive Bunion Plate, Left$10,450
- Arsenal Ankle 10 Hole 1/3 Tubular Plate$10,041
- Trilliant Arsenal Plating System$8,080
- VANTAGE$7,177
- DJO Surgical STAR Ankle$5,988
- PolyLock MiniLock$2,225
- Senza$1,396
- TRAUMA$145
- Cellerate$132
- ANCHORAGE$120
- Exogen Ultrasound Bone Healing System$120
- ACCULIF$104
- INBONE$101
- Omnia$101
How this compares
$384,384 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,126 foot & ankle surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| NuzyraOmadacycline Tosylate | 14 | $93,664 |
| Ciclopirox | 319 | $6,815 |
| Ketoconazole | 221 | $4,419 |
| Gabapentin | 112 | $1,637 |
| Acetaminophen-CodeineAcetaminophen With Codeine | 93 | $985 |
| Cephalexin | 64 | $650 |
| Promethazine Hcl | 64 | $458 |
| Betamethasone Dipropionate | 17 | $376 |
| Methylprednisolone | 47 | $283 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 62 | $240 |
| Triamcinolone Acetonide | 32 | $222 |
| Amitriptyline Hcl | 15 | $215 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 21 | $181 |
| Pregabalin | 16 | $165 |
| Terbinafine Hcl | 13 | $140 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Nuzyra | $82 | $93,66414 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 95th percentile of 1,126 foot & ankle surgery providers in California.
Other foot & ankle surgery in Palm Desert
- Alexandra BlackPalm Desert$30K
- Eric GizaSacramento$3.6M
- Thomas HarrisPasadena$3M
- Thomas ChangSanta Rosa$2M
- Michael CoughlinSan Francisco$1.6M
- Vladimir ZeetserEncino$677K
- Jason NowakRedding$526K
- Candice BradyCamarillo$462K
- Andrew HsuOrange$456K
- Eric TanLos Angeles$447K
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.