Frank Voelker, MD
Internal Medicine · Covington, LANPI 1316928260
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $6,811 of the $8,442 with a category attached, or 80.7%. 34 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 39.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $2,799 and has fallen 70.9% since, to $814 in 2025. Among internal medicine clinicians in LA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 352 payments — averaging $23.98 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$3K
- Atricure, Inc.$584
- Pfizer$523
- Johnson & Johnson$496
- Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC$420
- Novo Nordisk$321
- plus $3K from 28 others
Across 23 payments — averaging $6753.03 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.
- Novartis$155K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,62319%
- Food & beverage$6,81181%
- Education$80%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 80 | $3,370 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 8 | $584 |
| Pfizer | 34 | $523 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 35 | $496 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 23 | $420 |
| Novo Nordisk | 16 | $321 |
| Amgen | 25 | $293 |
| Merck | 17 | $292 |
| Novartis | 13 | $262 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 17 | $255 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 14 | $243 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 12 | $237 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 11 | $160 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 2 | $138 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 2 | $118 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 5 | $89 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 6 | $88 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 4 | $84 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $63 |
| Boston Scientific | 3 | $55 |
| Abbott | 2 | $46 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 3 | $39 |
| Bayer | 2 | $37 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 1 | $32 |
| AstraZeneca | 2 | $24 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $23 |
| Medicomp Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Seqirus USA Inc | 1 | $17 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $16 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Bardy Diagnostics, Inc. | 3 | $5 |
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
$8,442 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,528 internal medicine providers in Louisiana.
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 | 193 | $174,140 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 164 | $118,774 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 82 | $83,866 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 42 | $38,541 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 23 | $8,652 |
| Spiriva HandihalerTiotropium Bromide | 12 | $5,779 |
| Breo ElliptaFluticasone/Vilanterol | 12 | $4,597 |
| EdarbiAzilsartan Medoxomil | 12 | $2,927 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 192 | $2,552 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 136 | $2,235 |
| Clonidine | 11 | $1,819 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 196 | $1,488 |
| Valsartan | 49 | $1,316 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 38 | $1,183 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 180 | $1,120 |
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 | $523 | $174,140193 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $496 | $118,774164 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $262 | $83,86682 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $321 | $38,54142 claims |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Edarbi | $43 | $2,92712 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 90th percentile of 1,528 internal medicine providers in Louisiana.
Other internal medicine in Covington
- Bruce SamuelsCovington$200K
- David TranCovington$32K
- Rachael MurphyCovington$14K
- Donna RyanBaton Rouge$991K
- Steven DeitelzweigNew Orleans$939K
- Amanda FontenotMarrero$142K
- John SchwabBaton Rouge$122K
- Daniel EnglertNew Orleans$74K
- Everett BrownGretna$71K
- Rajan KhannaShreveport$54K
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.