Nathan Kukowski, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery · Augusta, GANPI 1952899619
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by grants: $100,500 of the $107,655 with a category attached, or 93.4%. Globus Medical accounts for 85.8% of it on its own, with 14 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $91,826 and has fallen 97.8% since, to $2,008 in 2025. Among orthopaedic surgery clinicians in GA 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 65 payments — averaging $1656.23 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Globus Medical$92K
- Medtronic$11K
- Stryker$3K
- Kuros Biosciences USA, Inc$305
- Circinus Medical Technology LLC$256
- Alphatec Spine, Inc$223
- plus $634 from 9 others
What the payments were for
- Grants$100,50093%
- Travel & lodging$3,3863%
- Food & beverage$3,7694%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Globus Medical(2 entities) | 24 | $92,390 |
| Medtronic(3 entities) | 9 | $11,114 |
| Stryker | 17 | $2,732 |
| Kuros Biosciences USA, Inc | 1 | $305 |
| Circinus Medical Technology LLC | 1 | $256 |
| Alphatec Spine, Inc | 1 | $223 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $213 |
| Nexxt Spine LLC | 1 | $182 |
| Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $65 |
| Bioventus LLC | 2 | $55 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $36 |
| Abbott | 2 | $29 |
| Vertex | 1 | $28 |
| GE HealthCare | 1 | $20 |
| Spineology Inc. | 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.
- AERO-LL$1,736
- XLIF$1,158
- CASCADIA INTERBODY SYSTEM$459
- INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM$455
- MagnetOs$305
- RELINE$261
- Bolt Navigation$256
- Nexxt Spine Product Portfolio$182
- RAVINE LATERAL ACCESS SYSTEM$175
- HEDRON IA$169
- BIO4$167
- RAVINE$167
- ALIF$158
- CREO 5.5$146
How this compares
$107,655 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 654 orthopaedic surgery providers in Georgia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 14 | $141 |
| Gabapentin | 13 | $130 |
| Meloxicam | 62 | $130 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 17 | $127 |
| Naproxen | 11 | $52 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 13 | $47 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery in Augusta
- Stephen ParadaAugusta$604K
- Lynn CrosbyAugusta$536K
- John DevineAugusta$331K
- Uzondu AgochukwuAugusta$194K
- Nicholas CapitoAugusta$83K
- Charles DecookCumming$48.3M
- Ormonde MahoneyAthens$10.6M
- Daxes BanitWarner Robins$5.5M
- John DorchakColumbus$3.8M
- Daniel SilcoxAtlanta$3.4M
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.