Rahul Argula
Critical Care Medicine · Charleston, SCNPI 1386841583
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (46.0%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. United Therapeutics Corporation accounts for 78.2% of it on its own, with 6 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $83,439, 4.6 times the $17,996 reported in 2019. Among critical care medicine clinicians in SC 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 254 payments — averaging $730.41 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- United Therapeutics Corporation$145K
- Merck$20K
- Bayer$15K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$5K
- Breathe Technologies, Inc.$500
- Advanced Respiratory, Inc$109
- plus $108 from 1 others
Across 145 payments — averaging $18,471 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.
- Merck$1.8M
- United Therapeutics Corporation$625K
- Novartis$142K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$70K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Ltd$32K
- Pfizer$30K
- plus $8K from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$72,46539%
- Speaking & faculty fees$85,39346%
- Travel & lodging$21,85012%
- Food & beverage$5,7963%
- Education$210%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 187 | $145,024 |
| Merck | 24 | $20,276 |
| Bayer | 24 | $14,893 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 12 | $4,613 |
| Breathe Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $500 |
| Advanced Respiratory, Inc | 4 | $109 |
| Sandoz | 2 | $108 |
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
$185,523 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 93 critical care medicine providers in South Carolina.
See all critical care medicine providers in South 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 |
|---|---|---|
| AdempasRiociguat | 315 | $4,217,496 |
| Tyvaso DpiTreprostinil | 113 | $3,186,652 |
| UptraviSelexipag | 89 | $2,249,674 |
| Ambrisentan | 409 | $1,618,474 |
| OpsumitMacitentan | 125 | $1,553,835 |
| Orenitram ErTreprostinil Diolamine | 36 | $505,374 |
| RemodulinTreprostinil Sodium | 38 | $376,731 |
| OfevNintedanib Esylate | 22 | $287,507 |
| WinrevairSotatercept-Csrk | 20 | $270,705 |
| Tadalafil | 264 | $251,258 |
| LetairisAmbrisentan | 16 | $193,233 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 78 | $62,759 |
| Anoro ElliptaUmeclidinium Brm/Vilanterol Tr | 72 | $36,439 |
| Sildenafil Citrate | 94 | $27,067 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 40 | $26,025 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BayerAdempas | $14,893 | $4,217,496315 claims |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.Uptravi, Opsumit | $4,613 | $3,803,509214 claims |
| United Therapeutics CorporationRemodulin | $145,024 | $376,73138 claims |
| MerckWinrevair | $20,276 | $270,70520 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 93 critical care medicine providers in South Carolina.
Other critical care medicine in Charleston
- Charlton StrangeCharleston$205K
- James CarswellCharleston$159K
- Nicholas FoxCharleston$88K
- Christopher GilbertCharleston$44K
- Gregory SquiresCharleston$14K
- John MitchellCharleston$10K
- Luca PaolettiCharleston$5K
- Jennings NestorCharleston$5K
- Tatsiana BeikoCharleston$4K
- Stephen SexauerCharleston$2K
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.