Jake Altier, MD
Rheumatology · Charleston, SCNPI 1154983096
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.2% of the total across 127 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 23 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.1% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,567, more than ten times the $111 reported in 2023. That places this record below the midpoint for rheumatology clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $4,469.
Across 127 payments — averaging $21.93 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$644
- AbbVie$469
- Johnson & Johnson$289
- Novartis$187
- UCB, Inc.$144
- AstraZeneca$144
- plus $909 from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,70797%
- Education$783%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen | 32 | $644 |
| AbbVie | 23 | $469 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 15 | $289 |
| Novartis | 7 | $187 |
| UCB, Inc. | 6 | $144 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 7 | $144 |
| Organon | 4 | $119 |
| Sanofi | 4 | $116 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 4 | $98 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 5 | $91 |
| GSK | 4 | $85 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 3 | $70 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 2 | $62 |
| Sandoz | 2 | $38 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $28 |
| Tersera Therapeutics LLC | 1 | $26 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 1 | $19 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
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.
- Otezla$142
How this compares
$2,785 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 123 rheumatology providers in South Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 40 | $305,142 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 32 | $235,966 |
| Actemra ActpenTocilizumab | 29 | $229,686 |
| Orencia ClickjectAbatacept | 14 | $126,365 |
| ActemraTocilizumab | 27 | $109,639 |
| Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab | 11 | $73,476 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 162 | $4,612 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 146 | $4,520 |
| Leflunomide | 32 | $1,222 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 14 | $1,221 |
| Allopurinol | 63 | $1,189 |
| Prednisone | 172 | $1,142 |
| Colchicine | 17 | $956 |
| Sulfasalazine | 21 | $773 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 35 | $748 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other rheumatology in Charleston
- Richard SilverCharleston$82K
- Deanna Baker FrostCharleston$43K
- Diane KamenCharleston$26K
- Gary GilkesonCharleston$16K
- Georgia RoaneCharleston$8K
- Erica AndersonCharleston$6K
- Colin EdgertonSummerville$3.5M
- Gregory NiemerSummerville$2.9M
- Gary FinkSummerville$2.9M
- Clarence LegertonSummerville$2.9M
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.