Howard Guss, DO
Gastroenterology · Ocean, NJNPI 1831162403
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (55.3%), other and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 28 manufacturers reported payments, led by Olympus America Inc. at 41.1% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $2,894 and has fallen 84.7% since, to $444 in 2025.
Across 236 payments — averaging $27.45 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Olympus America Inc.$3K
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$806
- Johnson & Johnson$549
- AbbVie$457
- Pfizer$356
- Bristol Myers Squibb$295
- plus $1K from 22 others
Across 16 payments — averaging $2041.13 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.
- AbbVie$28K
- Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$5K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$130%
- Food & beverage$3,58455%
- Education$2173%
- Other$2,66541%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Olympus America Inc. | 1 | $2,665 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 62 | $806 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 19 | $549 |
| AbbVie | 36 | $457 |
| Pfizer | 23 | $356 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 26 | $295 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 14 | $227 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 2 | $140 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $135 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 2 | $129 |
| Gilead | 10 | $125 |
| Lucid Diagnostics Inc. | 1 | $74 |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc. | 5 | $69 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $69 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 4 | $64 |
| QOL Medical, LLC | 6 | $56 |
| Madrigal Pharmaceuticals | 3 | $43 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $36 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Shionogi Inc | 2 | $27 |
| Redhill Biopharma Inc. | 2 | $26 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Vivus LLC | 1 | $16 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $14 |
| Concordia Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $12 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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.
- EVIS EXERA III COLONOVIDEOSCOPE$2,665
- Tremfya$146
- VOQUEZNA$135
- STELARA$125
- ZEPOSIA$117
How this compares
$6,479 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 701 gastroenterology providers in New Jersey.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CreonLipase/Protease/Amylase | 21 | $45,318 |
| Sucralfate | 117 | $36,270 |
| Dexlansoprazole DrDexlansoprazole | 32 | $14,146 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 12 | $11,434 |
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 140 | $9,207 |
| DexilantDexlansoprazole | 14 | $9,098 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 613 | $8,705 |
| Dicyclomine Hcl | 16 | $5,272 |
| Esomeprazole Magnesium | 78 | $2,951 |
| Rabeprazole Sodium | 40 | $1,759 |
| Omeprazole | 92 | $1,597 |
| Lansoprazole | 12 | $575 |
| Famotidine | 21 | $465 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieCreon, Linzess | $457 | $56,75233 claims |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.Dexilant | $227 | $9,09814 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 75th percentile of 701 gastroenterology providers in New Jersey.
Other gastroenterology in Ocean
- Vinod RustgiNew Brunswick$431K
- Zamir BrelviNewark$391K
- Adam ElfantMount Laurel$385K
- Devjit NayarHoboken$258K
- Lea ChenNew Brunswick$185K
- Alexander PerelmanWest Orange$160K
- Barry KaufmanEgg Harbor Township$157K
- Anish ShethPrinceton$151K
- Ramesh GuptaFair Lawn$143K
- Sanket PatelVoorhees$134K
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.