Michael Ritchie, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Great Falls, MTNPI 1386717437
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (55.4%), travel and lodging and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 26 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 39.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,935 and has fallen 62.8% since, to $720 in 2024.
Across 142 payments — averaging $35.20 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Abbott$1K
- Novartis$390
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$255
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$120
- Amgen$107
- plus $796 from 20 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,18044%
- Food & beverage$2,76855%
- Education$501%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 13 | $1,969 |
| Abbott | 23 | $1,361 |
| Novartis | 30 | $390 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 15 | $255 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 5 | $120 |
| Amgen | 7 | $107 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 6 | $98 |
| Merck | 6 | $89 |
| Bayer | 3 | $72 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $64 |
| Pfizer | 4 | $61 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 3 | $53 |
| GSK | 2 | $49 |
| Abiomed | 1 | $48 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 4 | $47 |
| AstraZeneca | 3 | $43 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 2 | $26 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $19 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. | 1 | $15 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $13 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 1 | $12 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 1 | $11 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 2 | $9 |
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.
- Endurant$1,679
- AMPLATZER AMULET$726
- CoreValve Evolut$108
How this compares
$4,998 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 49 cardiovascular disease providers in Montana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 211 | $198,959 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 89 | $73,018 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 44 | $41,311 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 30 | $37,166 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 34 | $25,051 |
| VerquvoVericiguat | 24 | $15,782 |
| Prasugrel Hcl | 216 | $8,006 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 362 | $5,515 |
| Losartan Potassium | 445 | $4,483 |
| Colchicine | 25 | $3,909 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 363 | $3,643 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 175 | $2,722 |
| Spironolactone | 303 | $2,137 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 192 | $2,006 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 156 | $1,820 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $61 | $198,959211 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $64 | $73,01889 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $390 | $37,16630 claims |
| MerckVerquvo | $89 | $15,78224 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 49 cardiovascular disease providers in Montana.
Other cardiovascular disease in Great Falls
- Alrich GrayGreat Falls$34K
- Jorge CastrizGreat Falls$6K
- Miroslaw SochanskiGreat Falls$1K
- Benjamin PlankBillings$46K
- Robert MitchellKalispell$23K
- Jocelyn SpoonMissoula$17K
- Patricia KellyMissoula$12K
- Joseph ApostolBillings$12K
- Newton CoutinhoMissoula$10K
- Dane SobekBozeman$8K
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.