Paul Welch, MD
Nephrology · Martinsburg, WVNPI 1548259146
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $89 of the $120 with a category attached, or 74.4%. 5 manufacturers reported payments, led by Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. at 32.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $65 and has fallen 93.6% since, to $4 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for nephrology clinicians in WV, where the typical reported total is $740.
Across 10 payments — averaging $11.98 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$39
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$31
- Sanofi$24
- Amgen$14
- Strongbridge US Inc.$12
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$8974%
- Education$3126%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 5 | $31 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $24 |
| Amgen | 1 | $14 |
| Strongbridge US Inc. | 1 | $12 |
How this compares
$120 in reported general payments places this provider in the 15th percentile of 55 nephrology providers in West Virginia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 410 | $345,199 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 76 | $95,303 |
| XphozahTenapanor Hcl | 12 | $61,435 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 17 | $50,847 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 37 | $42,467 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 41 | $36,296 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 24 | $24,487 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 79 | $18,678 |
| Calcitriol | 690 | $13,191 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 34 | $7,235 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 12 | $3,805 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 25 | $2,118 |
| Losartan Potassium | 187 | $1,764 |
| Famotidine | 135 | $1,534 |
| Spironolactone | 152 | $1,083 |
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 | $39 | $50,84717 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 15th percentile of 55 nephrology providers in West Virginia.
Other nephrology in Martinsburg
- Kavita WeiMartinsburg$91
- Julian EspirituSouth Charleston$215K
- Abdul ZanabliS Charleston$31K
- Murad KheetanHuntington$25K
- Arijit ChakravartyMorgantown$19K
- Asif RahmanCharleston$8K
- Mirza HamiraniVienna$8K
- Michael CollinsHuntington$7K
- Khan ShabihCharleston$6K
- Faroug SulimanCharleston$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.