David Sterns, MD
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology · Omaha, NENPI 1154382141
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $23,884 of the $27,598 with a category attached, or 86.5%. Abbott accounts for 83.8% of it on its own, with 34 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $8,427 and has fallen 63.2% since, to $3,105 in 2025.
Across 880 payments — averaging $31.36 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$23K
- Novartis$539
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$408
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$389
- Amgen$351
- Medtronic$335
- plus $2K from 29 others
Across 5 payments — averaging $4451.80 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.
- Abbott$22K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$3,71413%
- Food & beverage$23,88487%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 643 | $23,124 |
| Novartis | 39 | $539 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 23 | $408 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 30 | $389 |
| Amgen | 14 | $351 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 13 | $335 |
| Boston Scientific | 4 | $286 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 13 | $210 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 17 | $210 |
| Pfizer | 13 | $203 |
| AstraZeneca | 13 | $200 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 5 | $172 |
| Medicure Pharma Inc. | 1 | $159 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 10 | $143 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $122 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 8 | $114 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 6 | $103 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 5 | $78 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $66 |
| Merck | 3 | $44 |
| Philips North America LLC | 2 | $37 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 1 | $35 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 1 | $31 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $26 |
| Pulmonx Corporation | 1 | $23 |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $20 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $18 |
| Harmony Biosciences LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $18 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $16 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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
$27,598 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 21 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Nebraska.
See all clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Nebraska →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 568 | $535,083 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 112 | $108,667 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 696 | $12,497 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 195 | $8,741 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 634 | $8,474 |
| Dofetilide | 21 | $5,924 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 136 | $4,445 |
| CefuroximeCefuroxime Axetil | 99 | $811 |
| Propafenone Hcl | 22 | $804 |
| Carvedilol | 101 | $701 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 28 | $693 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 99 | $571 |
| Atenolol | 29 | $219 |
| Clindamycin Hcl | 48 | $214 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 22 | $165 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $203 | $535,083568 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $210 | $108,667112 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 55th percentile of 21 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Nebraska.
Other clinical cardiac electrophysiology in Omaha
- Hussam AbuissaOmaha$162K
- Jeffrey MahoneyOmaha$118K
- Shane TsaiOmaha$68K
- Jason PayneOmaha$59K
- Matthew SorensenOmaha$30K
- Matthew KapalisOmaha$24K
- Christopher EricksonOmaha$18K
- Matthew LatachaOmaha$14K
- Daniel VariOmaha$9K
- John SchleiferOmaha$5K
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.