Vernon Hershberger, MD
Family Medicine · Akron, OHNPI 1205845500
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.4% of the total across 530 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 38 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 19.5% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $2,214 and has fallen 60.5% since, to $873 in 2025. Among family medicine clinicians in OH with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 530 payments — averaging $20.35 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Novo Nordisk$1K
- Amgen$1K
- Astellas Pharma US Inc$965
- Pfizer$449
- plus $3K from 32 others
Across 14 payments — averaging $2173.79 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.
- Chiesi USA, Inc.$15K
- Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.$10K
- Myovant Sciences Inc.$4K
- GSK$2K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$10,50597%
- Education$2803%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 116 | $2,102 |
| AstraZeneca | 59 | $1,446 |
| Novo Nordisk | 92 | $1,434 |
| Amgen | 32 | $1,142 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 46 | $965 |
| Pfizer | 20 | $449 |
| Novartis | 19 | $390 |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 13 | $362 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 15 | $284 |
| Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 15 | $229 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 7 | $198 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 10 | $175 |
| Merck | 9 | $162 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 7 | $144 |
| Renalytix AI, Inc. | 5 | $133 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $133 |
| GSK | 8 | $125 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 8 | $104 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 4 | $78 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 4 | $70 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 5 | $61 |
| Eisai Inc. | 3 | $59 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 3 | $59 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 3 | $56 |
| Exact Sciences | 3 | $54 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 3 | $51 |
| Kerecis Limited | 2 | $51 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 3 | $45 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Gilead | 1 | $17 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $17 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $13 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $11 |
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
$10,785 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 3,983 family medicine providers in Ohio.
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 | 343 | $200,133 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 57 | $111,778 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 138 | $78,076 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 49 | $69,654 |
| Invega SustennaPaliperidone Palmitate | 25 | $64,664 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 62 | $60,504 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 64 | $59,940 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 42 | $43,637 |
| ProliaDenosumab | 24 | $42,167 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 46 | $29,402 |
| JanumetSitagliptin Phos/Metformin Hcl | 33 | $26,033 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 42 | $21,030 |
| NuedextaDextromethorphan Hbr/Quinidine | 13 | $18,734 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-100Insulin Degludec | 49 | $17,660 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 101 | $16,858 |
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 | $449 | $200,133343 claims |
| Novo NordiskRybelsus, Ozempic, Xultophy 100-3.6 | $1,434 | $186,526119 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonInvega Sustenna, Xarelto | $61 | $94,06671 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $965 | $78,076138 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Breztri Aerosphere | $1,446 | $68,69476 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Tradjenta | $198 | $66,09178 claims |
| MerckJanumet, Januvia | $162 | $47,06375 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCTrulicity | $284 | $43,63742 claims |
| AmgenProlia | $1,142 | $42,16724 claims |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Nuedexta | $362 | $18,73413 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $390 | $16,858101 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta | $125 | $16,82430 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 95th percentile of 3,983 family medicine providers in Ohio.
Other family medicine in Akron
- Benson BonyoAkron$27K
- Kwabena OtengSpringdale$2M
- Brian BeesleyColumbus$1.4M
- Darshana PatelBeachwood$648K
- Thomas GraceFindlay$503K
- Susan RatayAshtabula$379K
- Shannon TrotterSpringfield$348K
- Michael HeileCincinnati$272K
- Bradley EverlyMaumee$266K
- Tricia BedrickCuyahoga Falls$259K
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.