Kurtis Waters, MD
Otolaryngology · Baxter, MNNPI 1568440717
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (54.4%), food and beverage and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by Stryker at 36.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $3,080 and has fallen 94.0% since, to $185 in 2024. Among otolaryngology clinicians in MN with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 47 payments — averaging $123.11 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$2K
- Aerin Medical Inc.$1K
- Biomerieux Inc$897
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$624
- Acclarent, Inc$564
- Medtronic$109
- plus $196 from 7 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$89716%
- Travel & lodging$3,14954%
- Food & beverage$1,74030%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker | 9 | $2,085 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 14 | $1,312 |
| Biomerieux Inc | 1 | $897 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 1 | $624 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 11 | $564 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 2 | $109 |
| Preceptis Medical, Inc. | 2 | $52 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 1 | $50 |
| Sanofi | 2 | $31 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $23 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 1 | $14 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $11 |
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.
- ENTELLUS - XPRESS ENT DILATION SYSTEM$1,896
- VivAer$494
- RhinAer$494
- VIVAER STYLUS$253
- RHINAER STYLUS$253
- TruDi Navigation System$118
How this compares
$5,786 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 181 otolaryngology providers in Minnesota.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fluticasone Propionate | 73 | $727 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 83 | $430 |
| Ofloxacin | 17 | $396 |
| Cephalexin | 35 | $137 |
| Azithromycin | 15 | $126 |
| ValacyclovirValacyclovir Hcl | 11 | $68 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Baxter
- Philip MangerBaxter$2K
- Samuel LevineMinneapolis$151K
- George GodingMinneapolis$143K
- Theodore TruittSaint Cloud$96K
- Matthew CarlsonRochester$80K
- Troy HemmeMaple Grove$28K
- Michael PaparellaMinneapolis$22K
- Oleg FroymovichMinneapolis$20K
- David HamlarSt. Paul$19K
- Rijul KshirsagarRochester$18K
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.