Benjamin Hester, MD
Family Medicine · Greer, SCNPI 1538225206
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 169 payments — averaging $15.64 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$362
- AbbVie$268
- Bayer$222
- Amgen$186
- Abbott$185
- AstraZeneca$162
- plus $1K from 23 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,643100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 25 | $362 |
| AbbVie | 19 | $268 |
| Bayer | 9 | $222 |
| Amgen | 12 | $186 |
| Abbott | 13 | $185 |
| AstraZeneca | 12 | $162 |
| GSK | 9 | $132 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 7 | $128 |
| Novartis | 7 | $108 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 7 | $107 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 6 | $84 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 3 | $70 |
| Pfizer | 5 | $69 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 3 | $63 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 3 | $54 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 4 | $52 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 3 | $51 |
| Exact Sciences | 3 | $43 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 2 | $42 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 3 | $41 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $35 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $33 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 2 | $31 |
| Merck | 2 | $25 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Intuity Medical Inc | 1 | $18 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $15 |
How this compares
$2,643 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 2,153 family medicine providers in South Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 156 | $182,500 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 99 | $132,726 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 93 | $103,528 |
| EliquisApixaban | 125 | $97,177 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-200Insulin Degludec | 48 | $46,892 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 51 | $40,607 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 43 | $38,574 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 22 | $37,095 |
| VraylarCariprazine Hcl | 16 | $34,157 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 41 | $31,871 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 46 | $29,849 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 34 | $29,564 |
| Breo ElliptaFluticasone/Vilanterol | 27 | $15,289 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 254 | $10,191 |
| Lantus SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 60 | $8,419 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro, Trulicity | $52 | $219,596178 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $362 | $132,72699 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $84 | $103,52893 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $69 | $97,177125 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta, Incruse Ellipta | $132 | $59,95490 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $25 | $38,57443 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $162 | $35,56746 claims |
| AbbVieVraylar | $268 | $34,15716 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $33 | $31,87141 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $54 | $29,84946 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 75th percentile of 2,153 family medicine providers in South Carolina.
Other family medicine in Greer
- William ByarsGreer$4.8M
- Ronald DegarmoGreer$188K
- Cayce TangemanGoose Creek$8.4M
- Jeremy AckermannMoncks Corner$7.6M
- Kelly MoralesNorth Charleston$6.5M
- James FranklinGreenville$3.5M
- Stephen GrubbLittle River$3.4M
- Jeffrey HarrisGreenville$3.4M
- Shannon ConradN Charleston$3.3M
- Tom ChristensenLittle River$3.1M
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.