Howard Rubenstein
Family Medicine · Saraland, ALNPI 1376598086
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $6,495 of the $8,209 with a category attached, or 79.1%. 35 manufacturers reported payments, led by AstraZeneca at 24.7% of the total. Among family medicine clinicians in AL 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 382 payments — averaging $21.49 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$2K
- Novartis$1K
- Novo Nordisk$774
- AbbVie$543
- Pfizer$427
- Lilly USA, LLC$427
- plus $3K from 29 others
Across 229 payments — averaging $14,441 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.
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.$1.6M
- AbbVie$685K
- AstraZeneca$397K
- Novartis$241K
- Pfizer$200K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$82K
- plus $77K from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,61720%
- Food & beverage$6,49579%
- Education$380%
- Gifts$591%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca | 29 | $2,030 |
| Novartis | 9 | $1,150 |
| Novo Nordisk | 103 | $774 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 37 | $543 |
| Pfizer | 32 | $427 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 29 | $427 |
| Merck | 28 | $397 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 20 | $382 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 15 | $357 |
| Bayer | 8 | $229 |
| GSK | 10 | $148 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $140 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 8 | $136 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 4 | $120 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 1 | $114 |
| Mannkind Corporation | 2 | $109 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 7 | $98 |
| Exact Sciences | 5 | $87 |
| Abbott | 3 | $66 |
| Eisai Inc. | 4 | $64 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 4 | $64 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $44 |
| Currax Pharmaceuticals LLC | 3 | $43 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 2 | $30 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $28 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 2 | $26 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 2 | $25 |
| Amryt Pharma Holdings Ltd | 1 | $24 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $20 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $18 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 1 | $16 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $12 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $11 |
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
$8,209 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,680 family medicine providers in Alabama.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 103 | $4,065 |
| Fentanyl | 28 | $3,998 |
| Fluconazole | 41 | $1,952 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 37 | $1,754 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 12 | $1,458 |
| Gabapentin | 89 | $842 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 19 | $792 |
| Morphine Sulfate | 20 | $685 |
| Ondansetron Hcl | 16 | $381 |
| Lorazepam | 47 | $308 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 15 | $277 |
| Pregabalin | 13 | $241 |
| Lorazepam IntensolLorazepam | 11 | $228 |
| Clonazepam | 18 | $219 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 19 | $180 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other family medicine in Saraland
- Jason WestSaraland$17K
- Lashelle BarmoreBirmingham$486K
- Regina BenjaminBayou la Batre$222K
- Jonathan ParkerMuscle Shoals$214K
- Kathleen DupperHuntsville$210K
- Whitney TewHuntsville$114K
- Kelly HunterTuscaloosa$84K
- Daniel EnglertHuntsville$82K
- Joel LaughlinMobile$75K
- Ashleigh Butts-WilkersonMobile$54K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.