Stephen Bell, MD
Internal Medicine · Thomaston, GANPI 1821037433
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $1,560 of the $1,744 with a category attached, or 89.5%. 22 manufacturers reported payments, led by Novo Nordisk at 24.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $708 and has fallen 89.6% since, to $74 in 2023.
Across 102 payments — averaging $17.10 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$433
- Johnson & Johnson$285
- GSK$138
- Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$121
- Baxter Healthcare$112
- Novartis$91
- plus $564 from 16 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,56089%
- Education$151%
- Other$16810%
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 | 29 | $433 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 17 | $285 |
| GSK | 9 | $138 |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 7 | $121 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $112 |
| Novartis | 6 | $91 |
| AstraZeneca | 4 | $62 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $60 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 4 | $60 |
| Welch Allyn | 1 | $56 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 3 | $47 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 3 | $47 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $35 |
| Aroa Biosurgery Incorporated | 1 | $32 |
| Valeritas, Inc. | 2 | $27 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $26 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $24 |
| Eisai Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $19 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $16 |
| Biogen | 1 | $14 |
How this compares
$1,744 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 3,311 internal medicine providers in Georgia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 107 | $68,187 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 60 | $55,030 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 58 | $44,236 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 53 | $32,468 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 22 | $29,010 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 12 | $22,300 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 11 | $18,295 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-100Insulin Degludec | 23 | $15,366 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 11 | $13,999 |
| Basaglar Kwikpen U-100Insulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 19 | $13,805 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 11 | $11,547 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-200Insulin Degludec | 13 | $8,053 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 295 | $7,905 |
| Combivent RespimatIpratropium/Albuterol Sulfate | 14 | $6,847 |
| Gabapentin | 450 | $5,918 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $26 | $68,187107 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $138 | $55,03060 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus | $433 | $51,31034 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Symbicort | $62 | $47,42072 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $35 | $32,46853 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Combivent Respimat | $60 | $20,84625 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $60 | $11,54711 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 75th percentile of 3,311 internal medicine providers in Georgia.
Other internal medicine in Thomaston
- Michael GibsonSmyrna$2.2M
- Eduard FatakhovAlpharetta$376K
- Tracey HenryAtlanta$305K
- Sharon TuckettVilla Rica$265K
- Ebon BourneMarietta$242K
- Jennifer WoehlerSavannah$207K
- Julian HutchinsGreensboro$201K
- Brian PearlmanDalton$199K
- Scott ParryAtlanta$162K
- Jennifer GilliganAtlanta$162K
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.