Mark Esche, MD
Psychiatry · Austin, TXNPI 1174622740
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 1,064 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 31 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 13.3% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Among psychiatry 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 1,064 payments — averaging $16.50 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- Alkermes, Inc.$2K
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$2K
- ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.)$2K
- Lundbeck LLC$2K
- Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.$1K
- plus $6K from 25 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$17,557100%
- Education$10%
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) | 158 | $2,336 |
| Alkermes, Inc. | 140 | $2,232 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 115 | $2,044 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 107 | $1,892 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 99 | $1,655 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 74 | $1,125 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 58 | $1,006 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 45 | $787 |
| Ironshore Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 43 | $709 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 37 | $638 |
| Neos Therapeutics, LP | 29 | $437 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 26 | $379 |
| Corium, LLC | 20 | $369 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 18 | $354 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 20 | $258 |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 13 | $238 |
| Eisai Inc. | 10 | $176 |
| Noven Therapeutics, LLC | 9 | $165 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 8 | $152 |
| Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 6 | $101 |
| Adlon Therapeutics L.p. | 6 | $100 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 5 | $95 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 5 | $79 |
| Tris Pharma Inc | 4 | $72 |
| Vertical Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 3 | $44 |
| Alfasigma USA, Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc | 1 | $27 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $18 |
| Biogen | 1 | $14 |
| Rhodes Pharmaceuticals L.p. | 1 | $14 |
| Merck | 1 | $12 |
How this compares
$17,558 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 2,238 psychiatry 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 |
|---|---|---|
| IngrezzaValbenazine Tosylate | 33 | $268,855 |
| RexultiBrexpiprazole | 64 | $98,248 |
| VraylarCariprazine Hcl | 63 | $92,053 |
| TrintellixVortioxetine Hydrobromide | 82 | $63,156 |
| BelsomraSuvorexant | 50 | $33,603 |
| LatudaLurasidone Hcl | 11 | $24,064 |
| AuvelityDextromethorphan Hbr/Bupropion | 20 | $22,890 |
| SunosiSolriamfetol Hcl | 22 | $20,916 |
| LybalviOlanzapine/Samidorphan Malate | 12 | $19,097 |
| VyvanseLisdexamfetamine Dimesylate | 46 | $17,431 |
| Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate | 71 | $15,478 |
| AzstarysSerdexmethylphen/Dexmethylphen | 29 | $11,659 |
| Dextroamphetamine-AmphetamineDextroamphetamine/Amphetamine | 184 | $7,519 |
| Vilazodone Hcl | 62 | $7,388 |
| Bupropion XlBupropion Hcl | 126 | $4,759 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.Ingrezza | $638 | $268,85533 claims |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.Rexulti | $2,044 | $98,24864 claims |
| AbbVieVraylar | $2,336 | $92,05363 claims |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.Trintellix, Vyvanse | $1,006 | $80,587128 claims |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.Auvelity, Sunosi | $354 | $43,80642 claims |
| MerckBelsomra | $12 | $33,60350 claims |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.Latuda | $1,125 | $24,06411 claims |
| Alkermes, Inc.Lybalvi | $2,232 | $19,09712 claims |
| Corium, LLCAzstarys | $369 | $11,65929 claims |
| Tris Pharma IncDyanavel Xr | $72 | $4,72911 claims |
| Eisai Inc.Dayvigo | $176 | $4,13114 claims |
| Shire North American Group IncMydayis | $152 | $3,51611 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 2,238 psychiatry providers in Texas.
Other psychiatry in Austin
- Arvinder Pal WaliaAustin$2.5M
- Charles NemeroffAustin$429K
- Divyansu PatelAustin$50K
- Rakesh JainLake Jackson$7.2M
- Suresh SureddiPlano$2.2M
- Martin GuerreroEl Paso$2M
- Marty BennettAddison$1.8M
- Matthew BramsHouston$1.5M
- Vikram MehraKaty$1.2M
- Joel HolinerDallas$948K
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.