Ziad Ashkar, MD
Nephrology · Lafayette, LANPI 1356350946
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $16,800 of the $18,369 with a category attached, or 91.5%. 14 manufacturers reported payments, led by Lilly USA, LLC at 48.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $17,640 and has fallen 97.4% since, to $456 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in LA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 57 payments — averaging $322.27 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Lilly USA, LLC$9K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$9K
- AstraZeneca$202
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$160
- Novartis$100
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$81
- plus $304 from 8 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$16,80091%
- Travel & lodging$3382%
- Food & beverage$1,1926%
- Education$390%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lilly USA, LLC | 8 | $8,925 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 14 | $8,597 |
| AstraZeneca | 10 | $202 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 6 | $160 |
| Novartis | 4 | $100 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 3 | $81 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 3 | $74 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 3 | $72 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $45 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Merck | 1 | $20 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $19 |
| Amgen | 1 | $15 |
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.
- JARDIANCE$17,227
How this compares
$18,369 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 206 nephrology providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 84 | $52,738 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 12 | $37,944 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 38 | $32,967 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 18 | $27,979 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 27 | $20,986 |
| Clonidine | 14 | $2,448 |
| Calcium Acetate | 23 | $2,154 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 12 | $1,786 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 29 | $1,776 |
| Calcitriol | 133 | $1,592 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 15 | $1,318 |
| Potassium Chloride | 109 | $1,310 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 54 | $1,252 |
| Torsemide | 74 | $765 |
| Doxazosin Mesylate | 52 | $668 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $202 | $53,95365 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $8,597 | $52,73884 claims |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $74 | $37,94412 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 90th percentile of 206 nephrology providers in Louisiana.
Other nephrology in Lafayette
- Anthony BlalockLafayette$350K
- Akshey GuptaLafayette$6K
- Maximo LamarcheLafayette$5K
- Juan ZeikLafayette$5K
- Sreedhara AllaShreveport$722K
- Juan Carlos VelezNew Orleans$282K
- Jones SamuelBaton Rouge$207K
- Jon MaresCovington$103K
- Raja ZabanehShreveport$57K
- Michael TouchyNew Orleans$56K
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.