Benjamin Kurz, MD
Gastroenterology · Baton Rouge, LANPI 1710229596
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 383 payments — averaging $16.66 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$739
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$618
- Bristol Myers Squibb$468
- Johnson & Johnson$368
- Pfizer$268
- plus $2K from 30 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$6,23898%
- Education$1412%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 116 | $1,790 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 48 | $739 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 40 | $618 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 33 | $468 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 21 | $368 |
| Pfizer | 17 | $268 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 12 | $214 |
| Madrigal Pharmaceuticals | 6 | $211 |
| Sanofi | 5 | $191 |
| QOL Medical, LLC | 9 | $153 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 2 | $134 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 9 | $132 |
| Redhill Biopharma Inc. | 7 | $122 |
| Gilead | 8 | $117 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 6 | $115 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 6 | $88 |
| Celltrion USA Inc. | 3 | $75 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $68 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 3 | $65 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 3 | $53 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $46 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $42 |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $32 |
| Merck | 2 | $27 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $26 |
| Amgen | 1 | $22 |
| Shionogi Inc | 1 | $22 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $20 |
| Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc | 1 | $17 |
| Concordia Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Dynavax Technologies Corporation | 1 | $15 |
| Axonics, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Gastrogpo, LLC | 4 | $0 |
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.
How this compares
$6,379 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 254 gastroenterology providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LinzessLinaclotide | 28 | $27,528 |
| PlenvuPeg3350/Sod Sul/Nacl/Kcl/Asb/C | 35 | $4,730 |
| ClenpiqSod Picosulf/Mag Ox/Citric Ac | 28 | $4,605 |
| Budesonide EcBudesonide | 17 | $3,016 |
| Lubiprostone | 18 | $2,970 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 232 | $2,837 |
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 40 | $2,763 |
| Colestipol Hcl | 31 | $2,707 |
| Omeprazole | 45 | $1,233 |
| Esomeprazole Magnesium | 22 | $905 |
| Dicyclomine Hcl | 62 | $767 |
| Sucralfate | 17 | $341 |
| Ondansetron OdtOndansetron | 39 | $322 |
| Metronidazole | 16 | $209 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieLinzess | $1,790 | $27,52828 claims |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCPlenvu | $739 | $4,73035 claims |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.Clenpiq | $88 | $4,60528 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 65th percentile of 254 gastroenterology providers in Louisiana.
Other gastroenterology in Baton Rouge
- Gregory GaspardBaton Rouge$4M
- Jonathon ChapmanBaton Rouge$3.6M
- Gia LandryBaton Rouge$511K
- Satyaprasad AlapatiBaton Rouge$317K
- Neelima ReddyBaton Rouge$259K
- Michael BarkerBaton Rouge$167K
- Ronald LeoBaton Rouge$91K
- Christopher ChristensenBaton Rouge$63K
- Humberto AguilarShreveport$13.1M
- Gary ReissMarrero$10M
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.