Benjamin Schmidt, MD
Gastroenterology · Saint Louis, MONPI 1710418819
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (51.3%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by Pfizer at 35.3% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $28,536, 3.4 times the $8,421 reported in 2022. Among gastroenterology clinicians in MO 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 254 payments — averaging $205.52 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Pfizer$18K
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$13K
- AbbVie$9K
- KCI USA, Inc.$8K
- Sanofi$2K
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$306
- plus $2K from 18 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$26,80051%
- Speaking & faculty fees$20,60039%
- Food & beverage$4,7579%
- Education$460%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pfizer | 30 | $18,426 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 14 | $12,914 |
| AbbVie | 79 | $8,950 |
| KCI USA, Inc. | 1 | $8,000 |
| Sanofi | 13 | $1,679 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 19 | $306 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 10 | $271 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 10 | $194 |
| Gilead | 13 | $187 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 8 | $186 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 13 | $177 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 8 | $145 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 4 | $113 |
| Merck | 6 | $109 |
| Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc. | 6 | $101 |
| Celltrion USA Inc. | 6 | $97 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $79 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 3 | $70 |
| Organon | 2 | $46 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $42 |
| Madrigal Pharmaceuticals | 2 | $36 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Pharmacosmos Therapeutics Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 1 | $15 |
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
$52,202 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 374 gastroenterology providers in Missouri.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mesalamine DrMesalamine | 12 | $6,384 |
| Omeprazole | 75 | $980 |
| CholestyramineCholestyramine (With Sugar) | 16 | $911 |
| Famotidine | 15 | $191 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 24 | $168 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other gastroenterology in Saint Louis
- Gregory SayukSaint Louis$1.1M
- Katie SchroederSaint Louis$730K
- David AlpersSaint Louis$616K
- Parakkal DeepakSaint Louis$205K
- Mauricio Lisker MelmanSaint Louis$179K
- Matthew CiorbaSaint Louis$156K
- Bruce BaconSaint Louis$138K
- Jeffrey CrippinSaint Louis$120K
- Vladimir KushnirSaint Louis$118K
- Kayci Huff-HardySaint Louis$116K
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.