Ira Berger, MD
Internal Medicine · Rockville, MDNPI 1013913284
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.4% of the total across 225 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 40 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 16.5% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $837 and has fallen 52.8% since, to $395 in 2025.
Across 225 payments — averaging $18.02 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$670
- AbbVie$486
- GSK$377
- Merck$283
- Novo Nordisk$261
- Pfizer$253
- plus $2K from 34 others
Across 33 payments — averaging $6794.72 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.
- GSK$174K
- Novavax Inc$40K
- Merck$10K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,95197%
- Education$1033%
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.
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.
- FREESTYLE LIBRE 3$134
- XCELL$133
- AREXVY$121
How this compares
$4,054 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 2,979 internal medicine providers in Maryland.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 151 | $136,646 |
| EliquisApixaban | 63 | $72,149 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 27 | $44,101 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 28 | $39,701 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 28 | $39,413 |
| Anoro ElliptaUmeclidinium Brm/Vilanterol Tr | 59 | $38,889 |
| Nicotrol NsNicotine | 11 | $22,425 |
| Breo ElliptaFluticasone/Vilanterol | 13 | $12,996 |
| SynthroidLevothyroxine Sodium | 148 | $12,735 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 12 | $12,120 |
| SymbicortBudesonide/Formoterol Fumarate | 40 | $10,929 |
| Basaglar Kwikpen U-100Insulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 17 | $10,604 |
| Advair DiskusFluticasone Propion/Salmeterol | 27 | $9,075 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 635 | $9,025 |
| Breztri AerosphereBudesonide/Glycopyr/Formoterol | 11 | $8,040 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta, Breo Ellipta | $377 | $188,531223 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $253 | $72,14963 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $46 | $44,10127 claims |
| MerckJanuvia, Dulera | $283 | $43,50540 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $261 | $39,41328 claims |
| AstraZenecaSymbicort, Breztri Aerosphere | $670 | $18,96951 claims |
| AbbVieSynthroid | $486 | $12,735148 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $50 | $12,12012 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 2,979 internal medicine providers in Maryland.
Other internal medicine in Rockville
- Scott KoenigRockville$20K
- Marianne MannHighland$2.1M
- Param DedhiaBaltimore$636K
- Curtis RosebraughAshton$418K
- Mark CorriereColumbia$402K
- Gregory PokrywkaTowson$377K
- Shawn DhillonBaltimore$227K
- Brian HarveyAnnapolis$220K
- Jeremy SugarmanBaltimore$210K
- Florence HounPotomac$161K
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.