Louis Stephens, MD
Family Medicine · Laurens, SCNPI 1528001161
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 478 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 40 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 22.4% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Among family medicine clinicians in SC 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 478 payments — averaging $15.17 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- Novo Nordisk$812
- AstraZeneca$789
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$447
- GSK$427
- Lilly USA, LLC$388
- plus $3K from 34 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $168.54 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.
- Merck$169
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$7,249100%
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) | 116 | $1,627 |
| Novo Nordisk | 67 | $812 |
| AstraZeneca | 39 | $789 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 27 | $447 |
| GSK | 30 | $427 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 27 | $388 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 18 | $287 |
| Abbott | 13 | $237 |
| Amgen | 14 | $210 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 9 | $202 |
| Novartis | 12 | $177 |
| Pfizer | 10 | $170 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 12 | $162 |
| Exact Sciences | 11 | $160 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 9 | $127 |
| Bayer | 8 | $124 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 8 | $119 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 7 | $105 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 5 | $82 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 4 | $76 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 3 | $62 |
| Abiomed | 3 | $54 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 3 | $46 |
| Merck | 3 | $43 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 2 | $34 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $26 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $25 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Tris Pharma Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 1 | $17 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $14 |
| Bioventus LLC | 1 | $13 |
| Promius Pharma LLC | 1 | $12 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
| Organon | 1 | $8 |
| Dynavax Technologies Corporation | 1 | $7 |
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
$7,249 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 2,153 family medicine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 177 | $203,250 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 211 | $184,430 |
| EliquisApixaban | 204 | $167,492 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 139 | $112,516 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 132 | $112,238 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 146 | $103,217 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 57 | $67,530 |
| VraylarCariprazine Hcl | 35 | $51,362 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 55 | $42,103 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 37 | $33,255 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 70 | $31,321 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-200Insulin Degludec | 19 | $26,125 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 19 | $20,699 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 17 | $20,553 |
| Bydureon BciseExenatide Microspheres | 17 | $19,587 |
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, Rybelsus | $812 | $213,410188 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Combivent Respimat | $162 | $191,519226 claims |
| PfizerEliquis, Lyrica | $170 | $177,946216 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Breztri Aerosphere, Symbicort | $789 | $138,684197 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta | $427 | $123,301160 claims |
| MerckJanuvia, Janumet Xr | $43 | $110,212159 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro, Trulicity | $388 | $88,22976 claims |
| AbbVieVraylar, Linzess | $1,627 | $84,61772 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $25 | $42,10355 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $82 | $31,32170 claims |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.Trintellix | $447 | $11,49417 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 90th percentile of 2,153 family medicine providers in South Carolina.
Other family medicine in Laurens
- Peter ParteeLaurens$18K
- Stephen BruntonWinnsboro$1.3M
- Richard WilkesMt Pleasant$216K
- Andrew MartinColumbia$205K
- Ada StewartColumbia$186K
- Jeffrey BroderNorth Augusta$140K
- Terry NagelColumbia$112K
- Katherine JohnsonGreenwood$80K
- Scott SmithMount Pleasant$68K
- Jennifer StolinSummerville$59K
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.