Kathleen Kobashi, MD
Urology · Houston, TXNPI 1528160132
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $112,937 of the $159,150 with a category attached, or 71.0%. Medtronic accounts for 69.8% of it on its own, with 21 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $51,215 and has fallen 79.3% since, to $10,622 in 2025. Among urology clinicians in TX with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 303 payments — averaging $525.25 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$111K
- AbbVie$44K
- Boston Scientific$1K
- Valencia Technologies Corporation$872
- Caldera Medical, Inc$541
- Coloplast$538
- plus $1K from 16 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $1819.51 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.
- AbbVie$13K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$20,92013%
- Speaking & faculty fees$112,93771%
- Grants$1,4211%
- Travel & lodging$8,3915%
- Food & beverage$15,0639%
- Education$4170%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 181 | $111,011 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 66 | $43,541 |
| Boston Scientific | 13 | $1,433 |
| Valencia Technologies Corporation | 3 | $872 |
| Caldera Medical, Inc | 3 | $541 |
| Coloplast | 7 | $538 |
| Axonics, Inc. | 7 | $412 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 3 | $192 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $105 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $104 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 3 | $63 |
| Bayer | 1 | $57 |
| 180 Medical, Inc. | 2 | $57 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $47 |
| Ambu Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Procept Biorobotics Corporation | 1 | $27 |
| Laborie Medical Technologies Corp. | 2 | $25 |
| Avation Medical, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Alafair Biosciences, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Urogen Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Urovant Sciences Inc | 1 | $16 |
| Biotissue Holdings 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.
- INTERSTIM$102,459
- BOTOX$42,607
- eCoin Device Kit$751
- Solyx SIS System$544
- Desara$476
- INTERSTIM ICON$160
- AdVance XP$156
- GENERAL MALE SUI$151
- ALTIS$148
- Axonics$142
- UPSYLON$137
- VERIFY$122
- Bulkamid$117
- Cook Medical Holmium Laser Fiber$105
- GENTLECATH$104
- SPEEDICATH$103
How this compares
$159,150 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 878 urology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GemtesaVibegron | 224 | $135,521 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 78 | $46,703 |
| Estradiol | 138 | $10,135 |
| Trospium Chloride ErTrospium Chloride | 20 | $1,664 |
| Nitrofurantoin Mono-MacroNitrofurantoin Monohyd/M-Cryst | 40 | $725 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 56 | $701 |
| Methenamine Hippurate | 12 | $561 |
| Oxybutynin Chloride ErOxybutynin Chloride | 12 | $503 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 20 | $163 |
| Finasteride | 12 | $29 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.Gemtesa | $63 | $135,521224 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $192 | $46,70378 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 95th percentile of 878 urology providers in Texas.
Other urology in Houston
- Arun RaiHouston$920K
- Donald GriffithHouston$732K
- Jonathan Clavell HernandezHouston$500K
- Ashish KamatHouston$481K
- Mohit KheraHouston$428K
- Ricardo GonzalezHouston$314K
- Richard LinkHouston$261K
- Steven CanfieldHouston$256K
- Run WangHouston$195K
- Steven MaislosHouston$158K
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.