Nicholas Wetjen, MD
Neurological Surgery · Des Moines, IANPI 1275502726
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by travel and lodging: $17,570 of the $22,987 with a category attached, or 76.4%. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by Globus Medical at 28.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $10,583 and has fallen 88.6% since, to $1,210 in 2025. Among neurological surgery clinicians in IA 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 134 payments — averaging $171.55 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Globus Medical$7K
- Alphatec Spine, Inc$6K
- Medtronic$4K
- Si-bone, Inc.$3K
- Stryker$1K
- MF MED$839
- plus $532 from 7 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$17,57076%
- Food & beverage$5,39723%
- Education$200%
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) | 55 | $6,544 |
| Alphatec Spine, Inc | 17 | $6,473 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 34 | $4,110 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 11 | $3,038 |
| Stryker | 6 | $1,451 |
| MF MED | 4 | $839 |
| Surgenex LLC | 1 | $163 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $129 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 1 | $96 |
| KARL Storz Endoscopy-america | 1 | $82 |
| Providence Medical Technology, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| CSL Behring | 1 | $20 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 1 | $16 |
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.
- Other - Miscellaneous$5,928
- ExcelsiusGPS Robotic Navigation System$1,869
- iFuse Implant$1,625
- PIVOX Oblique Lateral Spinal System$1,477
- EVEREST SPINAL SYSTEM$1,357
- IFUSE IMPLANT SYSTEM$1,160
- ALIF$1,140
- XLIF$1,091
- DIVERGENCE ANTERIOR CERVICAL FUSION SYSTEM$959
- Hedron$512
- INTELLIS$345
- Mazor X Stealth Edition$344
- ELSA, ELSA AL/ATP$327
- Excelsius3D Imaging System$304
- SurGraft$163
- SurMatrix$163
- ArdeoGraft$163
- PelloGraft$163
- RenoGraft$163
- MAZOR X SYSTEM$155
How this compares
$22,987 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 54 neurological surgery providers in Iowa.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 57 | $553 |
| Gabapentin | 20 | $146 |
| Diazepam | 24 | $53 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Des Moines
- Timothy RykenDes Moines$44K
- Troy MunsonDes Moines$15K
- Zoya VoronovichDes Moines$11K
- Royce WoodroffeDes Moines$8K
- Einar BogasonDes Moines$4K
- Scott SeamanDes Moines$3K
- Esmiralda Yeremeyeva HendersonDes Moines$2K
- Joseph SherrillDes Moines$2K
- David BoariniDes Moines$638
- John PiperDes Moines$508
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.