Thomas Esther, PA
Physician Assistant · Durham, NCNPI 1619200375
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 23 payments — averaging $83.50 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Verathon Inc.$1K
- Johnson & Johnson$158
- Boston Scientific$129
- Pfizer$98
- Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.$85
- Myovant Sciences Inc.$75
- plus $126 from 4 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,25065%
- Food & beverage$67035%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Verathon Inc. | 1 | $1,250 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $158 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $129 |
| Pfizer | 5 | $98 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 4 | $85 |
| Myovant Sciences Inc. | 3 | $75 |
| Novartis | 2 | $53 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $43 |
| 180 Medical, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation | 1 | $12 |
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
$1,920 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 7,441 physician assistant providers in North 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 |
|---|---|---|
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 205 | $115,887 |
| GemtesaVibegron | 21 | $14,150 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 801 | $10,665 |
| Mirabegron ErMirabegron | 12 | $9,171 |
| Finasteride | 735 | $8,159 |
| Testosterone | 15 | $7,757 |
| Alfuzosin Hcl ErAlfuzosin Hcl | 215 | $3,396 |
| Solifenacin Succinate | 66 | $3,335 |
| Silodosin | 37 | $2,671 |
| Methenamine Hippurate | 35 | $1,948 |
| Tolterodine Tartrate ErTolterodine Tartrate | 29 | $1,916 |
| Nitrofurantoin Mono-MacroNitrofurantoin Monohyd/M-Cryst | 36 | $1,160 |
| Dutasteride | 39 | $849 |
| Pentoxifylline | 24 | $728 |
| Testosterone Cypionate | 14 | $546 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $43 | $115,887205 claims |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.Gemtesa | $85 | $14,15021 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 7,441 physician assistant providers in North Carolina.
Other physician assistant in Durham
- Joseph LicataDurham$29K
- Beth ParenteDurham$28K
- Jo HughesGreensboro$814K
- Rachel HolzhauerCharlotte$739K
- Amber BlairCharlotte$551K
- Benjamin EpsteinDavidson$447K
- Rebecca KrausDavidson$425K
- Brooke JonesGoldsboro$259K
- Philip ReasbeckWilson$180K
- Katherine SchultzHuntersville$164K
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.