Nathan Kusterer, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Lexington, KYNPI 1790078764
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $7,340 of the $8,289 with a category attached, or 88.5%. It is spread thinly across 39 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.6% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 402 payments — averaging $20.62 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$1K
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$1K
- Boston Scientific$767
- AOP Health US, LLC$767
- Pfizer$689
- Amgen$516
- plus $3K from 33 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$93711%
- Food & beverage$7,34089%
- Education$120%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 20 | $1,461 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 87 | $1,104 |
| Boston Scientific | 35 | $767 |
| AOP Health US, LLC | 2 | $767 |
| Pfizer | 54 | $689 |
| Amgen | 32 | $516 |
| AstraZeneca | 20 | $488 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 28 | $339 |
| Novartis | 10 | $180 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 11 | $176 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 8 | $151 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 2 | $142 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 11 | $139 |
| Philips North America LLC | 8 | $131 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 9 | $130 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 8 | $127 |
| Bayer | 7 | $122 |
| Novo Nordisk | 6 | $91 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 4 | $87 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 6 | $87 |
| Merck | 4 | $86 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 6 | $82 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 3 | $61 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $44 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $44 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $34 |
| Portola Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $29 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $25 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| GE HealthCare | 1 | $24 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 2 | $24 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 1 | $12 |
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.
- Rapiblyk$1,534
- Mitra Clip system$1,016
- OPTIMIZER$217
- FARXIGA$116
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$104
- BRILINTA$102
How this compares
$8,289 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 258 cardiovascular 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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 40 | $1,117,800 |
| EliquisApixaban | 608 | $564,483 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 200 | $183,106 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 122 | $150,836 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 184 | $149,258 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 101 | $76,667 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 90 | $67,515 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 62 | $33,668 |
| Repatha SyringeEvolocumab | 35 | $23,548 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 11 | $13,450 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 88 | $12,452 |
| NexletolBempedoic Acid | 21 | $11,606 |
| NexlizetBempedoic Acid/Ezetimibe | 19 | $9,726 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 20 | $9,556 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 389 | $5,026 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerVyndamax, Eliquis | $689 | $1,682,283648 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $180 | $183,106200 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $339 | $150,836122 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $176 | $149,258184 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $488 | $67,51590 claims |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.Nexletol, Nexlizet | $151 | $21,33140 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $130 | $13,45011 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 85th percentile of 258 cardiovascular disease providers in Kentucky.
Other cardiovascular disease in Lexington
- William SkinnerLexington$312K
- David MoliternoLexington$115K
- Andrew LeventhalLexington$43K
- John GurleyLexington$21K
- Suresh SharmaLexington$15K
- James CragerLexington$12K
- Kevin ScullyLexington$9K
- Amir PirachaLouisville$530K
- Dinesh KalraLouisville$316K
- Prabodh MehtaElizabethtown$133K
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.