Ricarda Benz, MD
Gynecology · Fullerton, CANPI 1669453254
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 94.2% of the total across 260 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 30 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.6% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $974 and has fallen 56.0% since, to $428 in 2025.
Across 260 payments — averaging $18.21 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.$835
- AbbVie$652
- Astellas Pharma US Inc$492
- Mayne Pharma Commercial LLC$352
- Amgen$311
- Currax Pharmaceuticals LLC$229
- plus $2K from 24 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,46294%
- Education$2736%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 73 | $835 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 33 | $652 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 14 | $492 |
| Mayne Pharma Commercial LLC | 12 | $352 |
| Amgen | 13 | $311 |
| Currax Pharmaceuticals LLC | 16 | $229 |
| Pfizer | 11 | $227 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 8 | $209 |
| Ascend Therapeutics US, LLC | 10 | $209 |
| Therapeuticsmd, Inc. | 12 | $176 |
| Avion Pharmaceuticals | 11 | $147 |
| Novo Nordisk | 8 | $138 |
| Millicent US Inc | 6 | $102 |
| Evofem Biosciences, Inc. | 5 | $85 |
| Bayer | 4 | $73 |
| AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $68 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 3 | $61 |
| Myovant Sciences Inc. | 3 | $60 |
| Medicure Pharma Inc. | 1 | $48 |
| Lupin Inc. | 3 | $48 |
| Exact Sciences | 2 | $34 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Vertical Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Coopersurgical, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Agile Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $17 |
| IBSA Pharma Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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.
- BIJUVA$121
How this compares
$4,734 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 247 gynecology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 23 | $26,629 |
| ImvexxyEstradiol | 52 | $21,605 |
| Estradiol (Twice Weekly)Estradiol | 126 | $14,169 |
| Victoza 3-PakLiraglutide | 11 | $8,635 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 11 | $7,256 |
| PremarinEstrogens, Conjugated | 14 | $7,224 |
| Pitavastatin Calcium | 25 | $6,849 |
| Estradiol | 115 | $6,678 |
| PremproEstrogen,con/M-Progest Acet | 13 | $4,958 |
| ProgesteroneProgesterone, Micronized | 110 | $4,446 |
| YuvafemEstradiol | 23 | $3,606 |
| DottiEstradiol | 26 | $2,545 |
| Ezetimibe | 102 | $2,332 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 201 | $2,234 |
| LyllanaEstradiol | 16 | $1,686 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $209 | $26,62923 claims |
| Therapeuticsmd, Inc.Imvexxy | $176 | $21,60552 claims |
| PfizerPremarin, Prempro | $227 | $12,18127 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $492 | $7,25611 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 80th percentile of 247 gynecology providers in California.
Other gynecology in Fullerton
- Bruce LeeMonterey$2.8M
- Barbara Levyla Jolla$719K
- Samar NahasRiverside$132K
- Aarathi CholkeriEl Segundo$128K
- Kelly WrightLos Angeles$119K
- Naphthali AlinsodLaguna Beach$108K
- Albertine OmaniOakland$70K
- Matthew SiedhoffBeverly Hills$67K
- Justin DiedrichAgoura Hills$46K
- Thomas CunninghamMonterey$36K
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.