Nitin Khosla, MD
Nephrology · Hickory, NCNPI 1841368982
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (59.8%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. accounts for 97.2% of it on its own, with 17 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $12,684 and has fallen 99.0% since, to $133 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in NC 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 127 payments — averaging $319.15 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$39K
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$159
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.$126
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$122
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$113
- AstraZeneca$102
- plus $515 from 12 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$7,50819%
- Speaking & faculty fees$24,23660%
- Travel & lodging$6,11315%
- Food & beverage$2,1545%
- Education$5211%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 66 | $39,395 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 9 | $159 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 5 | $126 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 8 | $122 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 6 | $113 |
| AstraZeneca | 7 | $102 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 5 | $101 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 4 | $92 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 3 | $66 |
| Vantive US Healthcare LLC | 1 | $63 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 4 | $45 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 3 | $35 |
| GSK | 1 | $29 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $18 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $16 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 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.
How this compares
$40,532 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 366 nephrology providers in North Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 28 | $42,799 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 30 | $22,622 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 13 | $10,925 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 100 | $7,031 |
| Torsemide | 276 | $3,264 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 126 | $1,956 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 117 | $860 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 62 | $846 |
| Valsartan | 23 | $461 |
| Lisinopril | 67 | $376 |
| Chlorthalidone | 52 | $339 |
| Calcitriol | 36 | $333 |
| Potassium Chloride | 34 | $276 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 37 | $134 |
| Carvedilol | 27 | $113 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $159 | $42,79928 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $102 | $22,62230 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 366 nephrology providers in North Carolina.
Other nephrology in Hickory
- Gregory GreenwoodWinston-Salem$947K
- Michael EtomiCharlotte$212K
- William KendrickGreenville$125K
- Jason EckelCary$123K
- Raven VooraSanford$111K
- Nam VoAsheville$89K
- Jennifer StoddardPinehurst$77K
- Barry FreedmanWinston Salem$67K
- James McCabeWilmington$56K
- Sammy MoghaziRaleigh$56K
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.