Ronald Helms, MD
Family Medicine · Vincent, ALNPI 1871579268
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 400 payments — averaging $13.34 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$1K
- AbbVie$1K
- Pfizer$786
- GSK$352
- Bayer$235
- AstraZeneca$203
- plus $1K from 30 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$5,28199%
- Education$551%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 126 | $1,287 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 95 | $1,105 |
| Pfizer | 57 | $786 |
| GSK | 20 | $352 |
| Bayer | 13 | $235 |
| AstraZeneca | 12 | $203 |
| Amgen | 13 | $201 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 9 | $153 |
| Corium, LLC | 5 | $96 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 5 | $89 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 3 | $69 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 4 | $66 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 3 | $54 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $52 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 4 | $49 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 2 | $45 |
| Novartis | 2 | $45 |
| Exact Sciences | 2 | $39 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Atland Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $36 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 2 | $36 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $22 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Neotract Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $17 |
| Abbott | 1 | $17 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $17 |
| Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $13 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 1 | $13 |
How this compares
$5,336 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 1,680 family medicine providers in Alabama.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 236 | $247,577 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 223 | $154,390 |
| EliquisApixaban | 198 | $146,887 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 120 | $136,907 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 95 | $65,095 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 75 | $52,146 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-200Insulin Degludec | 42 | $40,140 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 61 | $39,865 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 62 | $37,190 |
| UbrelvyUbrogepant | 26 | $35,820 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 26 | $29,497 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 15 | $23,081 |
| VraylarCariprazine Hcl | 15 | $22,343 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 1,084 | $20,474 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 25 | $19,396 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus | $1,287 | $270,658251 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro, Trulicity | $153 | $166,405146 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $89 | $154,390223 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $786 | $146,887198 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess, Ubrelvy, Vraylar, Creon | $1,105 | $111,214114 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta, Breo Ellipta | $352 | $87,166142 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Symbicort | $203 | $24,31245 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 1,680 family medicine providers in Alabama.
Other family medicine in Vincent
- Michael VaughnBirmingham$9.9M
- William NixonGuntersville$7.1M
- Randall QuinnCullman$5.4M
- Matthew CaldwellAthens$4.1M
- Michael CarterHuntsville$3.4M
- Howard RubensteinSaraland$3.3M
- Randle MiddletonHuntsville$3.3M
- Aaron KarrSheffield$3.1M
- Nidal MorrarFoley$3M
- Timothy HowardHuntsville$3M
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.