Housam Sarakbi, MD
Rheumatology · Louisville, KYNPI 1629475066
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (41.8%), food and beverage and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 50.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $12,440 and has fallen 76.7% since, to $2,897 in 2025.
Across 322 payments — averaging $83.49 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$13K
- UCB, Inc.$4K
- Pfizer$2K
- Johnson & Johnson$2K
- UCB SA$1K
- Amgen$1K
- plus $2K from 18 others
Across 35 payments — averaging $7703.35 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.
- UCB SA$189K
- AbbVie$70K
- Novartis$11K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$5,48320%
- Speaking & faculty fees$11,25042%
- Travel & lodging$2,4619%
- Food & beverage$7,59028%
- Education$1000%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 67 | $13,492 |
| UCB, Inc. | 47 | $4,072 |
| Pfizer | 29 | $2,188 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 14 | $2,084 |
| UCB SA | 9 | $1,444 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 54 | $1,424 |
| GSK | 23 | $463 |
| Novartis | 17 | $355 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 9 | $262 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 15 | $233 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 10 | $194 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 2 | $138 |
| Sobi, Inc | 7 | $126 |
| Organon | 5 | $76 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $68 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 2 | $62 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 3 | $44 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $34 |
| Vertex | 1 | $33 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $20 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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
$26,884 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 81 rheumatology providers in Kentucky.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 34 | $267,067 |
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 29 | $219,934 |
| Humira(Cf)Adalimumab | 18 | $120,118 |
| RinvoqUpadacitinib | 14 | $82,873 |
| Orencia ClickjectAbatacept | 12 | $66,109 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 219 | $3,795 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 21 | $3,209 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 93 | $2,400 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 131 | $2,281 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 67 | $2,182 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 91 | $1,767 |
| Leflunomide | 47 | $1,427 |
| Colchicine | 14 | $730 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 37 | $639 |
| Sulfasalazine DrSulfasalazine | 19 | $504 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieHumira(Cf), Rinvoq | $13,492 | $202,99132 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 81 rheumatology providers in Kentucky.
Other rheumatology in Louisville
- Gary CrumpLouisville$176K
- Benjamin BooneLouisville$80K
- Jacquelyn SmithLouisville$63K
- Lisa JuneLouisville$27K
- Carolyn GleasonLouisville$25K
- Janet LeonLouisville$20K
- Steven SternLouisville$3K
- Heidi RogersLouisville$2K
- Mohamed JallohLouisville$2K
- Ami JoglekarLouisville$830
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.