Courage Atekha, MD
Nephrology · Statesboro, GANPI 1124119219
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $6,164 of the $8,248 with a category attached, or 74.7%. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by Merck at 25.1% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $3,516 and has fallen 55.8% since, to $1,555 in 2025.
Across 296 payments — averaging $27.86 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$2K
- AstraZeneca$1K
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$885
- Amgen$733
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$572
- Ardelyx, Inc.$545
- plus $2K from 19 others
Across 203 payments — averaging $1717.39 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.
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$127K
- GSK$118K
- CSL Behring$50K
- Merck$35K
- AstraZeneca$19K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,56119%
- Food & beverage$6,16475%
- Education$5236%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 9 | $2,067 |
| AstraZeneca | 63 | $1,182 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 48 | $885 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 31 | $733 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 27 | $572 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 19 | $545 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 16 | $470 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 17 | $376 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 14 | $331 |
| Bayer | 14 | $268 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 9 | $181 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 6 | $122 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $106 |
| Novo Nordisk | 4 | $84 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $71 |
| GSK | 3 | $48 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 3 | $47 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Abbott | 1 | $22 |
| Novartis | 1 | $22 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $19 |
| Shield 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.
How this compares
$8,248 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 388 nephrology providers in Georgia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| RayaldeeCalcifediol | 244 | $338,097 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 324 | $265,506 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 293 | $248,169 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 184 | $159,783 |
| XphozahTenapanor Hcl | 32 | $119,259 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 35 | $84,696 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 345 | $52,496 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 45 | $42,437 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 55 | $39,007 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 41 | $27,869 |
| EliquisApixaban | 29 | $25,512 |
| TradjentaLinagliptin | 25 | $18,136 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 19 | $17,206 |
| Calcium Acetate | 128 | $8,894 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 17 | $7,795 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLCRayaldee | $885 | $338,097244 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $1,182 | $304,513379 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Tradjenta | $71 | $266,304318 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $268 | $159,783184 claims |
| Akebia Therapeutics IncAuryxia | $122 | $84,69635 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $2,067 | $42,43745 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $22 | $17,20619 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCLantus | $20 | $1,53813 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 85th percentile of 388 nephrology providers in Georgia.
Other nephrology in Statesboro
- Sagar PanseMacon$542K
- Sheldon ShoreAtlanta$474K
- James TumlinLawrenceville$434K
- Salvatore ChillemiMarietta$287K
- Christina KleinAtlanta$137K
- Mary MuonekeAtlanta$119K
- Don WilliamsonAugusta$104K
- Frederic Rahbari OskouiAtlanta$88K
- Rajendran AlappanColumbus$87K
- William PaxtonLawrenceville$73K
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.