Carlos Castro, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine · Minneapolis, MNNPI 1326375353
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 113 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 10 manufacturers reported payments, led by Royal Biologics, Inc. at 31.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $1,286 and has fallen 96.0% since, to $51 in 2024. That places this record below the midpoint for orthopaedic surgery of the spine clinicians in MN, where the typical reported total is $3,706.
Across 113 payments — averaging $31.73 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Royal Biologics, Inc.$1K
- Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc.$605
- Globus Medical$551
- Zimmer Biomet$536
- Smith+Nephew$317
- Boston Scientific$147
- plus $299 from 4 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,586100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Biologics, Inc. | 65 | $1,130 |
| Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc. | 3 | $605 |
| Globus Medical | 29 | $551 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 5 | $536 |
| Smith+Nephew | 2 | $317 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $147 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 2 | $111 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $82 |
| Zimvie Inc. | 1 | $55 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $51 |
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.
- Biomet SpinalPak$510
- Magellan$471
- LENS$174
- MaxxCell$158
- SPECTRA WAVEWRITER$147
- 4KO Scopes$144
How this compares
$3,586 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 39 orthopaedic surgery of the spine providers in Minnesota.
See all orthopaedic surgery of the spine providers in Minnesota →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Meloxicam | 27 | $135 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 21 | $61 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery of the spine in Minneapolis
- Eiman ShafaMinneapolis$570K
- Nathan HendricksonMinneapolis$34K
- Jeffrey VargheseMinneapolis$5K
- Mark MichaelMinneapolis$4K
- John LonsteinMinneapolis$268
- Glenn ButtermannRoseville$259K
- Nicholas WillsEagan$241K
- Tenner GuillaumeSaint Paul$163K
- Benjamin MuellerFridley$89K
- Michael SmithEdina$43K
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.