Karen Altman, MD
Neurology · West Hollywood, CANPI 1518912211
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 252 payments — averaging $23.01 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$942
- MDD US Operations, LLC$535
- Novartis$481
- SK Life Science, Inc.$427
- UCB, Inc.$307
- Biogen$300
- plus $3K from 27 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$481%
- Food & beverage$5,72099%
- Education$301%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 45 | $942 |
| MDD US Operations, LLC | 22 | $535 |
| Novartis | 30 | $481 |
| SK Life Science, Inc. | 16 | $427 |
| UCB, Inc. | 10 | $307 |
| Biogen | 12 | $300 |
| Sanofi | 12 | $282 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 10 | $275 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 9 | $231 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 7 | $212 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 13 | $191 |
| Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc | 12 | $170 |
| Eisai Inc. | 6 | $169 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 7 | $165 |
| Pfizer | 6 | $158 |
| Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $142 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 6 | $117 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 4 | $92 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 3 | $92 |
| Argenx US, Inc. | 2 | $69 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 2 | $58 |
| EMD Serono, Inc. | 3 | $52 |
| Abbott | 2 | $49 |
| Acorda Therapeutics, Inc | 2 | $48 |
| Forte Bio-pharma LLC | 1 | $35 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $31 |
| Neurelis, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 1 | $23 |
| Vertical Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $14 |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC | 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
$5,798 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 1,996 neurology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| QuliptaAtogepant | 13 | $23,439 |
| Emgality PenGalcanezumab-Gnlm | 12 | $8,039 |
| Galantamine Hbr | 105 | $7,620 |
| Memantine Hcl ErMemantine Hcl | 15 | $2,689 |
| RivastigmineRivastigmine Tartrate | 24 | $1,988 |
| Carbidopa-LevodopaCarbidopa/Levodopa | 67 | $1,906 |
| Memantine Hcl | 72 | $1,828 |
| Galantamine ErGalantamine Hbr | 15 | $1,572 |
| Entacapone | 13 | $1,163 |
| Levetiracetam ErLevetiracetam | 31 | $1,054 |
| Carbamazepine ErCarbamazepine | 20 | $1,016 |
| Levetiracetam | 31 | $699 |
| Gabapentin | 68 | $690 |
| Carbidopa-Levodopa ErCarbidopa/Levodopa | 13 | $618 |
| Donepezil Hcl | 33 | $463 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieQulipta | $942 | $23,43913 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 65th percentile of 1,996 neurology providers in California.
Other neurology in West Hollywood
- Regina BerkovichWest Hollywood$5.6M
- Timothy CloughesyLos Angeles$33.1M
- Jack FlorinFullerton$13M
- David KudrowSanta Monica$12.8M
- John Ravitsla Jolla$8.4M
- Perminder BhatiaFresno$8.3M
- Perry ShiehLos Angeles$8.2M
- Benjamin FrishbergCarlsbad$8.2M
- Bruce CreeSan Francisco$8M
- Lawrence RechtPalo Alto$6.6M
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.