Charles Kulwin, MD
Neurological Surgery · Carmel, INNPI 1619294600
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (39.7%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 11 manufacturers reported payments, led by NICO Corporation at 44.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $3,974 and has fallen 92.4% since, to $302 in 2025.
Across 52 payments — averaging $193.70 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- NICO Corporation$4K
- Medtronic$4K
- Stryker$1K
- DJO, LLC$173
- Johnson & Johnson$81
- Orthofix Medical, Inc.$40
- plus $95 from 5 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $1199.87 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- Biogen$1K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2,90029%
- Speaking & faculty fees$4,00040%
- Travel & lodging$2,23122%
- Food & beverage$9219%
- Education$200%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| NICO Corporation | 4 | $4,467 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 29 | $4,156 |
| Stryker | 9 | $1,059 |
| DJO, LLC | 1 | $173 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 3 | $81 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 1 | $40 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $23 |
| CSL Behring | 1 | $20 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 1 | $19 |
| Globus Medical | 1 | $19 |
| Springworks Therapeutics, 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.
- O-ARM-ST$1,160
- StealthStation$790
- CHROMOPHARE F300$715
- O-ARM$580
- NICO AUTOMATED PRESERVATION SYSTEM$221
- NICO BRAINPATH$221
- NICO MENIGLIDE$221
- NICO SECUREHOLD$221
- NICO FLUID SYSTEM$221
- CMF$173
- MAZOR X SYSTEM$133
How this compares
$10,072 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 112 neurological surgery providers in Indiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Levetiracetam | 43 | $535 |
| Gabapentin | 31 | $305 |
| Dexamethasone | 19 | $248 |
| Famotidine | 13 | $124 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Carmel
- Jean-Pierre MobasserCarmel$3.5M
- Troy PaynerCarmel$803K
- Eric PottsCarmel$345K
- Richard RodgersCarmel$45K
- Shahjehan AhmadCarmel$15K
- John DepowellCarmel$15K
- Daniel KimCarmel$7K
- Kenneth RenkensCarmel$7K
- Saad KhairiCarmel$6K
- Michael TurnerIndianapolis$522K
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.