Laxman Kalvakuntla, MD
Hospitalist · Houston, TXNPI 1013913623
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $28,452 of the $29,917 with a category attached, or 95.1%. Novartis accounts for 95.1% of it on its own, with 16 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $13,567 and has fallen 99.2% since, to $108 in 2025. Among hospitalist 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 142 payments — averaging $210.69 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novartis$28K
- Lilly USA, LLC$340
- AstraZeneca$293
- Novo Nordisk$275
- Abbott$119
- AbbVie$76
- plus $363 from 11 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$28,45295%
- Food & beverage$1,4665%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis | 54 | $28,452 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 17 | $340 |
| AstraZeneca | 11 | $293 |
| Novo Nordisk | 21 | $275 |
| Abbott | 13 | $119 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 5 | $76 |
| Amgen | 4 | $66 |
| Pfizer | 3 | $56 |
| Althera Pharmaceuticals LLC | 2 | $47 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $38 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 2 | $34 |
| GSK | 2 | $34 |
| Merck | 2 | $28 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $14 |
| Currax Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $14 |
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
$29,917 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,284 hospitalist 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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 37 | $58,919 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 30 | $36,859 |
| EliquisApixaban | 38 | $35,579 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 11 | $16,790 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 11 | $14,282 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 13 | $13,520 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 12 | $10,716 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 258 | $2,056 |
| Lantus SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 19 | $1,743 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 52 | $1,514 |
| SynthroidLevothyroxine Sodium | 17 | $1,414 |
| Nebivolol Hcl | 22 | $1,414 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 100 | $1,324 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 134 | $1,253 |
| Ezetimibe-SimvastatinEzetimibe/Simvastatin | 13 | $1,154 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $275 | $58,91937 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $38 | $36,85930 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $56 | $35,57938 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $340 | $16,79011 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $34 | $14,28211 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $28 | $13,52013 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $293 | $10,71612 claims |
| AbbVieSynthroid | $76 | $1,41417 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 1,284 hospitalist providers in Texas.
Other hospitalist in Houston
- Ryan NealHouston$154K
- Ahmad BaroutHouston$44K
- Joshua HahnHouston$23K
- Grace OdiHouston$14K
- Spencer SuHouston$9K
- Martin Chacon PortilloHouston$9K
- Abeer SiddiqiHouston$9K
- Brent GudenkaufHouston$8K
- Dilpreet SinghHouston$7K
- John FlynnHouston$6K
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.