Kristen Higgins, MD
Dermatology · Gastonia, NCNPI 1578777017
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 96.7% of the total across 609 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 38 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 20.8% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 609 payments — averaging $17.13 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- Pfizer$1K
- UCB, Inc.$787
- Johnson & Johnson$767
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$639
- Lilly USA, LLC$632
- plus $4K from 32 others
Across 2 payments — averaging $16,929 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.
- Reflexion Medical, Inc.$34K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$10,09097%
- Education$3433%
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) | 118 | $2,169 |
| Pfizer | 76 | $1,108 |
| UCB, Inc. | 30 | $787 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 34 | $767 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 36 | $639 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 53 | $632 |
| Sanofi | 30 | $627 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 50 | $479 |
| LEO Pharma Inc. | 23 | $475 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 15 | $458 |
| Amgen | 23 | $393 |
| Incyte Corporation | 18 | $335 |
| Galderma Laboratories, L.p. | 30 | $305 |
| Novartis | 19 | $266 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 10 | $206 |
| Almirall LLC | 7 | $125 |
| Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $50 |
| Tempus AI, Inc | 2 | $48 |
| Strata Skin Sciences, Inc. | 5 | $48 |
| Sandoz | 2 | $45 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 2 | $39 |
| Ortho Dermatologics, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 2 | $38 |
| Nabriva Therapeutics, PLC | 2 | $38 |
| DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $36 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| EPI Health, LLC | 1 | $35 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Mayne Pharma Commercial LLC | 2 | $27 |
| Dermira, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $24 |
| Biofrontera Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 1 | $22 |
| Dermavant Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Organon | 1 | $20 |
| Cipher Pharmaceuticals US LLC | 1 | $16 |
| VYNE Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Botanix SB Inc | 1 | $14 |
| Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.), 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.
- Skyrizi$125
How this compares
$10,433 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 475 dermatology providers in North 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 |
|---|---|---|
| TremfyaGuselkumab | 14 | $198,531 |
| Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab | 16 | $107,142 |
| Dupixent PenDupilumab | 18 | $67,773 |
| Clobetasol Propionate | 85 | $4,255 |
| Ketoconazole | 216 | $3,669 |
| Fluocinonide | 64 | $2,468 |
| Ciclopirox | 29 | $2,142 |
| Tretinoin | 21 | $1,837 |
| Cephalexin | 22 | $1,761 |
| Azelaic Acid | 18 | $1,717 |
| Desonide | 28 | $1,694 |
| Metronidazole | 41 | $1,648 |
| Fluocinolone Acetonide | 34 | $1,591 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 71 | $1,397 |
| Fluorouracil | 16 | $1,388 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonTremfya | $767 | $198,53114 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 85th percentile of 475 dermatology providers in North Carolina.
Other dermatology in Gastonia
- Jaime VanournyGastonia$13K
- Steven FeldmanWinston Salem$3.4M
- Nicole SeminaraHuntersville$1.4M
- Andrew LeeElkin$702K
- Christopher SayedChapel Hill$690K
- William HooverConcord$594K
- Patrick McElgunnCharlotte$565K
- George MagelHickory$554K
- Muneeb ShahClinton$451K
- John SoderbergCary$398K
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.