Pankaj Baluja, MD
Nephrology · Oklahoma City, OKNPI 1063480309
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 96.5% of the total across 96 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 23 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.1% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. That places this record below the midpoint for nephrology clinicians in OK, where the typical reported total is $2,111.
Across 96 payments — averaging $19.06 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$313
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$303
- Bayer$173
- Amgen$169
- ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$162
- AstraZeneca$128
- plus $581 from 17 others
Across 11 payments — averaging $2582.95 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.$28K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,76596%
- Education$644%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 11 | $313 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 23 | $303 |
| Bayer | 4 | $173 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 9 | $169 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 9 | $162 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 9 | $128 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $64 |
| Novartis | 3 | $62 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 3 | $56 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 3 | $53 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $51 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $34 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Pharmacosmos Therapeutics Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $26 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $19 |
| GSK | 1 | $18 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 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.
How this compares
$1,830 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 106 nephrology providers in Oklahoma.
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 | 23 | $117,017 |
| Lanthanum Carbonate | 34 | $33,310 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 40 | $29,463 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 85 | $13,799 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 18 | $12,641 |
| Isosorbide Mononitrate ErIsosorbide Mononitrate | 147 | $4,857 |
| Calcitriol | 181 | $3,090 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 105 | $2,006 |
| Carvedilol | 122 | $1,898 |
| Allopurinol | 218 | $1,887 |
| Nebivolol Hcl | 17 | $1,764 |
| Furosemide | 210 | $1,393 |
| Losartan Potassium | 107 | $1,372 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 139 | $1,207 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 71 | $1,144 |
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 | $37 | $117,01723 claims |
| AstraZenecaLokelma | $128 | $12,64118 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 45th percentile of 106 nephrology providers in Oklahoma.
Other nephrology in Oklahoma City
- Celeste BoeckmanOklahoma City$90K
- Joseph GhataOklahoma City$45K
- Benjamin CowleyOklahoma City$36K
- Brad CarterOklahoma City$13K
- Laura RankinOklahoma City$11K
- Gary BondOklahoma City$9K
- Sudhir KhannaOklahoma City$7K
- Jawaid JamalOklahoma City$7K
- Patrick ReevesOklahoma City$6K
- Bradley LongOklahoma City$6K
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.