Mahesh Bhatt, MD
Infectious Disease · Lexington, KYNPI 1881018166
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 39 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 6 manufacturers reported payments, led by La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company at 28.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $250 and has fallen 54.8% since, to $113 in 2025.
Across 39 payments — averaging $23.27 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company$260
- Merck$251
- AbbVie$204
- Insmed, Inc.$87
- Viiv Healthcare Company$64
- Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$42
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$907100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company | 11 | $260 |
| Merck | 11 | $251 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 12 | $204 |
| Insmed, Inc. | 1 | $87 |
| Viiv Healthcare Company | 3 | $64 |
| Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $42 |
How this compares
$907 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 100 infectious disease providers in Kentucky.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Daptomycin | 97 | $73,906 |
| ErtapenemErtapenem Sodium | 44 | $19,127 |
| Nafcillin Sodium | 13 | $7,939 |
| Cefepime Hcl | 22 | $6,192 |
| Ampicillin Sodium | 17 | $5,006 |
| Sodium Chloride0.9 % Sodium Chloride | 272 | $4,230 |
| Piperacillin-TazobactamPiperacillin Sodium/Tazobactam | 14 | $3,723 |
| Vancomycin Hcl | 23 | $2,964 |
| CeftriaxoneCeftriaxone Sodium | 90 | $2,954 |
| Meropenem | 20 | $2,566 |
| Cefazolin Sodium | 27 | $2,320 |
| Linezolid | 13 | $1,114 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 15 | $176 |
| Levofloxacin | 13 | $51 |
| Diphenhydramine Hcl | 13 | $37 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other infectious disease in Lexington
- David DoughertyLexington$145K
- Charles RoseLexington$68K
- Marty AllenLexington$40K
- Daniel RodrigueLexington$37K
- John MeekLexington$12K
- Mark DoughertyLexington$12K
- Andrea BanksLexington$11K
- Takako SchaningerLexington$8K
- Andrew AlexanderLexington$7K
- Richard GreenbergLexington$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.