Craig Cender, MD
Gastroenterology · Asheville, NCNPI 1073502068
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.9% of the total across 73 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 22 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.9% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $743, 2.8 times the $264 reported in 2019. That places this record below the midpoint for gastroenterology clinicians in NC, where the typical reported total is $1,694.
Across 73 payments — averaging $30.12 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$394
- Johnson & Johnson$333
- Covidien LP$281
- Steris Corporation$206
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$188
- Olympus America Inc.$177
- plus $620 from 16 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,196100%
- Education$20%
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.
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
$2,199 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 610 gastroenterology providers in North Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SuflavePeg 3350/Sod Sulf,chlr/Pot/Mag | 28 | $3,414 |
| Lansoprazole | 53 | $2,820 |
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 30 | $2,033 |
| Gavilyte-GPeg3350/Sod Sulf,bicarb,cl/Kcl | 83 | $1,558 |
| Mesalamine | 14 | $1,439 |
| Lubiprostone | 12 | $1,223 |
| Omeprazole | 72 | $715 |
| Rabeprazole Sodium | 24 | $530 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 46 | $507 |
| Famotidine | 25 | $135 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other gastroenterology in Asheville
- Adam ZivonyAsheville$184K
- Brian GarvinAsheville$103K
- Stephen DealCharlotte$945K
- Fred FowlerCharlotte$932K
- Paul WatkinsChapel Hill$876K
- Nilesh LodhiaCharlotte$735K
- Evan DellonChapel Hill$431K
- Robert ReindollarSalisbury$430K
- Andrew StormWinston Salem$426K
- John PoulosFayetteville$407K
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.