Steven Kessler, DO
Gastroenterology · Chattanooga, TNNPI 1689611626
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.1% of the total across 489 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 46 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 21.6% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $3,290, 3.0 times the $1,100 reported in 2019.
Across 489 payments — averaging $21.02 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$758
- Johnson & Johnson$676
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$645
- Boston Scientific$595
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$464
- plus $5K from 40 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $1298.69 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.
- AbbVie$1K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2562%
- Food & beverage$9,97997%
- Education$430%
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.
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.
- OverStitch Endoscopic Suturing System$395
- ESOPHYX$142
- Tremfya$125
- Rinvoq$125
- OMVOH$124
- Skyrizi$123
- Livdelzi$122
- Olympus EMR & ESD Devices$121
- I-FACTOR PEPTIDE ENHANCED BONE GRAFT$116
- STELARA$113
How this compares
$10,278 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 336 gastroenterology providers in Tennessee.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| StelaraUstekinumab | 21 | $561,133 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 24 | $169,063 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 113 | $79,147 |
| Budesonide EcBudesonide | 21 | $17,172 |
| ClenpiqSod Picosulf/Mag Ox/Citric Ac | 57 | $9,753 |
| Dexlansoprazole DrDexlansoprazole | 35 | $9,101 |
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 49 | $2,871 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 242 | $2,647 |
| Budesonide DrBudesonide | 16 | $2,526 |
| Proctofoam-HcHydrocortisone/Pramoxine | 11 | $1,970 |
| Lubiprostone | 21 | $1,936 |
| SutabSod Sulf/Pot Chloride/Mag Sulf | 11 | $1,770 |
| Omeprazole | 91 | $1,470 |
| Diphenoxylate-AtropineDiphenoxylate Hcl/Atropine | 51 | $1,137 |
| Sucralfate | 18 | $861 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonStelara | $676 | $561,13321 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $2,223 | $79,147113 claims |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.Clenpiq | $215 | $9,75357 claims |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc.Sutab | $53 | $1,77011 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 336 gastroenterology providers in Tennessee.
Other gastroenterology in Chattanooga
- Henry PaikChattanooga$19K
- Richard SadowitzChattanooga$16K
- Elizabeth GoodwinChattanooga$14K
- David SchwartzNashville$1.3M
- Ziad YounesGermantown$1M
- Dawn Borromeo BeaulieuNashville$421K
- Satheesh NairMemphis$349K
- Colin HowdenMemphis$291K
- Sara HorstNashville$246K
- Raj NarayaniKnoxville$204K
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.