Laura Ernst, PA
Surgical · West Columbia, SCNPI 1407043789
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 105 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 20 manufacturers reported payments, led by Coloplast at 42.3% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $782 and has fallen 74.1% since, to $203 in 2025.
Across 105 payments — averaging $18.14 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Coloplast$806
- AbbVie$318
- Axonics, Inc.$115
- Shionogi Inc$100
- Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.$98
- Olympus America Inc.$79
- plus $388 from 14 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,905100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Coloplast | 61 | $806 |
| AbbVie | 16 | $318 |
| Axonics, Inc. | 1 | $115 |
| Shionogi Inc | 1 | $100 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 5 | $98 |
| Olympus America Inc. | 2 | $79 |
| ABC Home Medical Supply, Inc. | 3 | $57 |
| Innovation Technologies Inc | 1 | $47 |
| CMP Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $46 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $45 |
| Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Merck | 1 | $29 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $22 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $15 |
| Halozyme Inc | 1 | $13 |
| Urogen Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Laborie Medical Technologies Corp. | 1 | $12 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $5 |
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.
- SPEEDICATH$170
- Axonics$115
How this compares
$1,905 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 232 surgical providers in South 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 |
|---|---|---|
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 101 | $82,842 |
| GemtesaVibegron | 32 | $21,340 |
| Mirabegron ErMirabegron | 17 | $12,656 |
| Estradiol | 36 | $2,811 |
| Testosterone Cypionate | 68 | $2,491 |
| Solifenacin Succinate | 38 | $2,471 |
| Methenamine Hippurate | 27 | $2,202 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 140 | $2,007 |
| Tolterodine Tartrate ErTolterodine Tartrate | 13 | $1,613 |
| Finasteride | 73 | $1,341 |
| Tadalafil | 13 | $1,284 |
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 13 | $1,276 |
| Silodosin | 11 | $914 |
| Trimethoprim | 24 | $754 |
| NitrofurantoinNitrofurantoin Macrocrystal | 26 | $669 |
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 | $98 | $21,34032 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 75th percentile of 232 surgical providers in South Carolina.
Other surgical in West Columbia
- Richard JacobWest Columbia$4K
- Brandie BernagozziWest Columbia$4K
- Ethan SmallwoodWest Columbia$3K
- Bryan AlfordWest Columbia$3K
- Victoria PregibonWest Columbia$3K
- Eric RobertsWest Columbia$2K
- Paige CrowleyWest Columbia$2K
- Phillip FerrellWest Columbia$2K
- Natalie BartonWest Columbia$2K
- Joshua BeardsleyRock Hill$192K
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.