Joshua Lowentritt, MD
Nephrology · New Orleans, LANPI 1235180266
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (55.4%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 26 manufacturers reported payments, led by Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. at 55.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $4,291 and has fallen 73.2% since, to $1,150 in 2025.
Across 123 payments — averaging $56.64 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$4K
- Bayer$412
- Corcept Therapeutics$391
- Amgen$313
- Novo Nordisk$229
- AstraZeneca$215
- plus $2K from 20 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$2,40034%
- Travel & lodging$68110%
- Food & beverage$3,85755%
- Education$290%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 11 | $3,890 |
| Bayer | 18 | $412 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 9 | $391 |
| Amgen | 9 | $313 |
| Novo Nordisk | 11 | $229 |
| AstraZeneca | 11 | $215 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 3 | $211 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 7 | $202 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 3 | $137 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 8 | $130 |
| Novartis | 1 | $129 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $114 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 5 | $97 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 1 | $73 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 5 | $72 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 3 | $61 |
| Pfizer | 4 | $57 |
| AbbVie | 3 | $56 |
| Tolmar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| Amryt Pharma Holdings Ltd | 1 | $28 |
| Merck | 2 | $25 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $24 |
| Seqirus USA Inc | 1 | $14 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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
$6,967 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 206 nephrology providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 364 | $296,510 |
| EliquisApixaban | 108 | $69,860 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 80 | $50,515 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 52 | $40,968 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 31 | $37,739 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 37 | $21,627 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 20 | $16,756 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 16 | $10,901 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 13 | $8,910 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 13 | $6,923 |
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 38 | $4,357 |
| Calcium Acetate | 28 | $3,383 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 270 | $2,733 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 30 | $2,258 |
| Famotidine | 86 | $1,859 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $130 | $296,510364 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $57 | $69,860108 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $25 | $50,51580 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $412 | $40,96852 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCTrulicity | $24 | $37,73931 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $215 | $21,62737 claims |
| Novo NordiskRybelsus | $229 | $16,75620 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $129 | $10,90116 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 80th percentile of 206 nephrology providers in Louisiana.
Other nephrology in New Orleans
- Juan Carlos VelezNew Orleans$282K
- Michael TouchyNew Orleans$56K
- Juan MedauraNew Orleans$14K
- Farshid YazdiNew Orleans$14K
- Mihran NaljayanNew Orleans$10K
- Rhea BhargavaNew Orleans$9K
- April FoxNew Orleans$8K
- Myra KleinpeterNew Orleans$7K
- Angela ReginelliNew Orleans$6K
- Francisco CruzNew Orleans$6K
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.