Vladimir Kushnir, MD
Gastroenterology · Saint Louis, MONPI 1275641813
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (45.1%), consulting fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by Boston Scientific at 40.2% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $37,466, 7.3 times the $5,150 reported in 2019. Among gastroenterology clinicians in MO 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 212 payments — averaging $558.56 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Boston Scientific$48K
- Conmed Corporation$27K
- US Endoscopy$13K
- AbbVie$8K
- Reshape Lifesciences Inc.$4K
- Olympus Medical Systems Corporation$3K
- plus $16K from 18 others
Across 8 payments — averaging $6341.98 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.
- Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH$48K
- Medtronic$1K
- Novo Nordisk AS$1K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$34,88829%
- Speaking & faculty fees$53,40645%
- Grants$10,0879%
- Travel & lodging$9,8968%
- Food & beverage$10,1379%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Scientific | 93 | $47,617 |
| Conmed Corporation | 18 | $26,547 |
| US Endoscopy | 7 | $12,550 |
| AbbVie | 14 | $8,401 |
| Reshape Lifesciences Inc. | 2 | $4,376 |
| Olympus Medical Systems Corporation | 5 | $3,243 |
| Steris Corporation | 21 | $3,243 |
| Medtronic | 10 | $2,098 |
| Olympus Corporation Of The Americas | 3 | $1,674 |
| Wilson Cook Medical Incorporated | 3 | $1,565 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 1 | $1,206 |
| Covidien LP | 2 | $913 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 7 | $793 |
| Merit Medical Systems Inc | 2 | $700 |
| Ambu Inc. | 7 | $622 |
| Olympus America Inc. | 6 | $600 |
| Aspero Medical, Inc. | 2 | $597 |
| BD | 1 | $510 |
| Apollo Endosurgery US Inc | 2 | $489 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $203 |
| ERBE USA Inc | 1 | $140 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $123 |
| Fujifilm Healthcare Americas Corporation | 1 | $120 |
| Sentynl Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $83 |
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.
- GORE VIABIL$15,061
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$14,300
- X-Tack Endoscopic HeliX Tacking System$11,316
- EXALT Model D$4,779
- SPYGLASS$3,235
- OverStitch Endoscopic Suturing System$2,643
- OverStitch NXT Endoscopic Suturing System$2,101
- EVIS EXERA III DUODENOVIDEOSCOPE$1,925
- Barrx$1,900
- Creon$1,650
- ACQUIRE$1,602
- AXIOS$1,452
- GENERAL - BILIARY DEVICES$999
- CONMED BILIARY$987
- ORISE$936
- TRUFREEZE$841
- Fusion Quattro$600
- CONMED GENERATORS$585
- D.A.S.H.$565
- Cook Medical Sphincterotomy$400
How this compares
$118,414 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 374 gastroenterology providers in Missouri.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CreonLipase/Protease/Amylase | 51 | $222,738 |
| NexiumEsomeprazole Magnesium | 13 | $8,580 |
| Dexlansoprazole DrDexlansoprazole | 21 | $7,273 |
| Omeprazole | 382 | $6,668 |
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 94 | $6,112 |
| Sucralfate | 102 | $3,132 |
| Rabeprazole Sodium | 50 | $2,826 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 159 | $2,573 |
| Esomeprazole Magnesium | 26 | $1,822 |
| Gavilyte-GPeg3350/Sod Sulf,bicarb,cl/Kcl | 62 | $778 |
| Famotidine | 95 | $662 |
| Dicyclomine Hcl | 19 | $380 |
| Gabapentin | 31 | $292 |
| Peg-3350 And ElectrolytesPeg3350/Sod Sulf,bicarb,cl/Kcl | 18 | $270 |
| Lansoprazole | 22 | $241 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieCreon | $8,401 | $222,73851 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 374 gastroenterology providers in Missouri.
Other gastroenterology in Saint Louis
- Gregory SayukSaint Louis$1.1M
- Katie SchroederSaint Louis$730K
- David AlpersSaint Louis$616K
- Parakkal DeepakSaint Louis$205K
- Mauricio Lisker MelmanSaint Louis$179K
- Matthew CiorbaSaint Louis$156K
- Bruce BaconSaint Louis$138K
- Jeffrey CrippinSaint Louis$120K
- Kayci Huff-HardySaint Louis$116K
- Rajesh KeswaniSaint Louis$109K
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.