James Bertus, MD
Pain Medicine · Norfolk, NENPI 1447357462
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (54.6%), food and beverage and gifts — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 23 manufacturers reported payments, led by Genesys Orthopedics Systems, L.L.C. at 34.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $1,923 and has fallen 96.0% since, to $77 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for pain medicine clinicians in NE, where the typical reported total is $4,468.
Across 120 payments — averaging $37.24 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Genesys Orthopedics Systems, L.L.C.$2K
- Spinal Simplicity, LLC$1K
- Abbott$322
- Boston Scientific$282
- AbbVie$176
- Forte Bio-pharma LLC$119
- plus $796 from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,44055%
- Food & beverage$2,01345%
- Gifts$150%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Genesys Orthopedics Systems, L.L.C. | 7 | $1,527 |
| Spinal Simplicity, LLC | 11 | $1,246 |
| Abbott | 19 | $322 |
| Boston Scientific | 19 | $282 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 11 | $176 |
| Forte Bio-pharma LLC | 6 | $119 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 6 | $119 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 5 | $94 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 5 | $89 |
| Vertex | 2 | $78 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 6 | $72 |
| Pfizer | 5 | $67 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. | 5 | $65 |
| MML US, Inc. | 2 | $51 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $30 |
| Nevro Corp. | 2 | $24 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Conetic Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Averitas Pharma Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 1 | $15 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $14 |
| Nalu Medical, 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.
- SACROILIAC JOINT FUSION SYSTEM$2,747
- HA MINUTEMAN G3-R$1,036
How this compares
$4,468 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 31 pain medicine providers in Nebraska.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Xtampza ErOxycodone Myristate | 30 | $19,524 |
| Buprenorphine | 53 | $11,568 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 56 | $7,566 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 163 | $3,588 |
| Fentanyl | 27 | $2,409 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 43 | $1,520 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 193 | $1,204 |
| Gabapentin | 76 | $926 |
| Pregabalin | 45 | $845 |
| Morphine Sulfate | 25 | $621 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 56 | $360 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 36 | $357 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 37 | $208 |
| Celecoxib | 11 | $133 |
| Methylprednisolone | 13 | $121 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other pain medicine in Norfolk
- Ihsan BalkayaNorfolk$10K
- Phillip EssayLincoln$63K
- Austin ReillyElkhorn$34K
- Charles WhittenLincoln$25K
- Matthew StottleOmaha$14K
- John MasseyLincoln$13K
- Liane DonovanLincoln$13K
- Katie BerkyOmaha$12K
- Dongyup LeeGrand Island$11K
- Tyrus SoaresOmaha$8K
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.