Benjamin Kester, MD
Sports Medicine · Lombard, ILNPI 1568851251
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (46.1%), grants and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 12 manufacturers reported payments, led by Smith+Nephew at 41.1% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $32,189 and has fallen 96.7% since, to $1,048 in 2025. Among sports medicine clinicians in IL 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 107 payments — averaging $524.14 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Smith+Nephew$23K
- Arthrex$20K
- Stryker$5K
- Encore Medical, LP$3K
- Medwest Associates$3K
- Vericel Corporation$1K
- plus $882 from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,5003%
- Speaking & faculty fees$1340%
- Grants$20,00036%
- Travel & lodging$3,1086%
- Food & beverage$5,49310%
- Education$25,84746%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Smith+Nephew | 3 | $23,023 |
| Arthrex | 3 | $20,198 |
| Stryker | 36 | $4,579 |
| Encore Medical, LP | 29 | $3,336 |
| Medwest Associates | 8 | $3,038 |
| Vericel Corporation | 16 | $1,027 |
| Exactech, Inc. | 2 | $224 |
| Miach Orthopaedics, Inc. | 1 | $191 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $158 |
| Linvatec Corporation | 3 | $126 |
| Bone Support Inc. | 1 | $118 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 2 | $65 |
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.
- DJO Surgical AltiVate Reverse$2,012
- DJO Surgical AltiVate Anatomic System$1,775
- BLUEPRINT PATIENT SPECIFIC INSTRUMENTATION$997
- PROCINCH$616
- MACI$567
- PANGEA$485
- INSPACE$449
- DJO SURGICAL$439
- T2$312
- T2 ALPHA$311
- EQUINOXE$224
- ICONIX$166
- GAMMA$158
- NA$145
- HIP ARTHROSCOPY ACCESS & INSTRUMENTATION SET$141
- HAMMERLOCK$125
- CERAMENTBONE VOID FILLER$118
- ALLOGRAFT TISSUE$100
- LINVATEC SHOULDER ARTHROSCOPY$100
- LINVATEC ARTHROSCOPY$100
How this compares
$56,083 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 233 sports medicine providers in Illinois.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Celecoxib | 38 | $414 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 34 | $240 |
| Methylprednisolone | 50 | $216 |
| Acetaminophen-CodeineAcetaminophen With Codeine | 45 | $206 |
| Meloxicam | 50 | $151 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 22 | $142 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 31 | $95 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 13 | $89 |
| Ondansetron Hcl | 13 | $42 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other sports medicine in Lombard
- Benjamin DombDes Plaines$16.3M
- Gregory NicholsonChicago$6.7M
- Grant GarriguesChicago$2.5M
- Brian ColeChicago$2.1M
- Brian ForsytheChicago$1.9M
- Nikhil VermaChicago$647K
- Shane NhoChicago$521K
- Jourdan CancienneJoliet$224K
- Vehniah TjongChicago$173K
- Aravind AthivirahamChicago$138K
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.