Payment overview · 2025
General Payments
$59.76
3 reported records · 2 companies
Healthcare provider profile · identity verified
Joseph C Lugo, M.D.
Allopathic & Osteopathic Physicians|Family Medicine · BRANCHBURG, NJ · NPI 1306200829
Verified facts
What the public records show
CMS Open Payments records show Joseph C Lugo, M.D. received $59.76 in general payments during 2025 across 3 reported records.
Novo Nordisk Inc accounted for 68.6% of that reported general-payment amount.
The Open Payments records used for this analysis explicitly named 5 associated products.
A separate comparison found the same explicitly named product in public Medicare Part D data: Ozempic, Rybelsus.
Novo Nordisk Inc reported payments to this doctor in 2025. Across the 2025 Open Payments General Payment records loaded for this analysis, that same reporting entity reported Ozempic as an associated drug or biological on 261625 records involving 77793 distinct recipient NPIs. Public Medicare Part D data also shows 29 claims for Ozempic by this doctor in 2024.
Novo Nordisk Inc reported payments to this doctor in 2025. Across the 2025 Open Payments General Payment records loaded for this analysis, that same reporting entity reported Rybelsus as an associated drug or biological on 161257 records involving 55409 distinct recipient NPIs. Public Medicare Part D data also shows 20 claims for Rybelsus by this doctor in 2024.
These records do not establish that a payment influenced prescribing or medical care.
Separate record types
Research & Ownership
Research Payments (direct recipient): not present in the loaded data
Associated Research Funding (for example, named PI): not present in the loaded data
Ownership / Investment: not present in the loaded data
These categories are never added into the General Payments headline. Associated research funding must not be described as money the doctor personally received unless the source record supports that conclusion.
Who paid this doctor?
Companies in 2025 General Payments
| Reported company | Canonical company | Amount | Share | Records | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk Inc | Unresolved — no canonical attribution shown | $40.97 | 68.6% | 2 | 2025 |
| Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | Unresolved — no canonical attribution shown | $18.79 | 31.4% | 1 | 2025 |
What were the payments for?
Payment categories
| Category | Amount | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Food and Beverage | $59.76 | 3 |
A meal, consulting fee, royalty, and travel payment describe different kinds of reported relationships and should not be interpreted as equivalent.
Analysis 1 · Payment-linked products
Products named in Open Payments records
| Reported product | Type | Reported company | Related amount* | Records | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozempic Normalized: ozempic |
Drug | Novo Nordisk Inc | $20.88 | 1 | 2025 |
Source payment records
|
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| Rybelsus Normalized: rybelsus |
Drug | Novo Nordisk Inc | $20.88 | 1 | 2025 |
Source payment records
|
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| CAPVAXIVE Normalized: capvaxive |
Biological | Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | $18.79 | 1 | 2025 |
Source payment records
|
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| GARDASIL 9 Normalized: gardasil 9 |
Biological | Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | $18.79 | 1 | 2025 |
Source payment records
|
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| VAXELIS Normalized: vaxelis |
Biological | Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | $18.79 | 1 | 2025 |
Source payment records
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* Product-associated amounts are non-additive because one payment record may name more than one product.
These products were named on specific Open Payments records. A named product does not show that the payment influenced treatment or prescribing.
Public prescribing for products named in payments
| Open Payments product | Payment year | Part D brand | Part D year | Claims | Match method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozempic ozempic |
2025 | Ozempic | 2024 | 29 Beneficiary count suppressed |
exact normalized | Medicare Part D |
| Rybelsus rybelsus |
2025 | Rybelsus | 2024 | 20 Beneficiary count suppressed |
exact normalized | Medicare Part D |
The presence of the same drug in both datasets does not show that a payment caused or influenced a prescription.
Analysis 2 · Same-company prescribing overlap
Drugs reported in other payments from the same company that also appear in Medicare Part D
This analysis is independent from products named on this doctor’s individual payment records. A row appears only when the exact Open Payments reporting entity paid this doctor, that same reporting entity reported the drug or biological on at least 10 loaded General Payment records involving at least 2 distinct recipient NPIs, and this doctor has the same non-generic brand in public Part D data. This does not mean the company owns or manufactures the drug.
| Paying company | Payment year | Drug reported by same entity | Open Payments evidence | Part D | Claims | Beneficiaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk Inc Exact reporting entity; no affiliate inference |
2025 | Ozempic open payments reported associated product |
CMS Open Payments — General Payments 261625 supporting records · 77793 recipient NPIs · example record 1188130076 |
Ozempic · 2024 Exact normalized brand match · 1 Part D row |
29 | suppressed by CMS |
| Novo Nordisk Inc Exact reporting entity; no affiliate inference |
2025 | Rybelsus open payments reported associated product |
CMS Open Payments — General Payments 161257 supporting records · 55409 recipient NPIs · example record 1188130076 |
Rybelsus · 2024 Exact normalized brand match · 1 Part D row |
20 | suppressed by CMS |
These facts do not show that a payment was for the drug, that the company owns or manufactures the drug, or that a payment caused or influenced prescribing.
Public Medicare Part D data
Provider-and-drug rows loaded for 2024
| Brand | Generic | Claims | Beneficiaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | Rosuvastatin Calcium | 143 | 55 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | Atorvastatin Calcium | 138 | 47 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | Levothyroxine Sodium | 96 | 32 |
| Metformin Hcl | Metformin Hcl | 81 | 25 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | Amlodipine Besylate | 66 | 26 |
| Lisinopril | Lisinopril | 56 | 19 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | Metoprolol Succinate | 55 | 21 |
| Losartan Potassium | Losartan Potassium | 50 | 19 |
| Mounjaro | Tirzepatide | 45 | suppressed |
| Montelukast Sodium | Montelukast Sodium | 31 | suppressed |
| Ezetimibe | Ezetimibe | 30 | suppressed |
| Ozempic | Semaglutide | 29 | suppressed |
| Omeprazole | Omeprazole | 28 | 12 |
| Hydrochlorothiazide | Hydrochlorothiazide | 27 | suppressed |
| Glimepiride | Glimepiride | 26 | suppressed |
| Simvastatin | Simvastatin | 26 | suppressed |
| Olmesartan Medoxomil | Olmesartan Medoxomil | 25 | suppressed |
| Sertraline Hcl | Sertraline Hcl | 25 | suppressed |
| Albuterol Sulfate Hfa | Albuterol Sulfate | 24 | 18 |
| Metformin Hcl Er | Metformin Hcl | 21 | suppressed |
| Rybelsus | Semaglutide | 20 | suppressed |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | Doxycycline Hyclate | 19 | 18 |
| Famotidine | Famotidine | 19 | suppressed |
| Gabapentin | Gabapentin | 19 | suppressed |
| Lisinopril-Hydrochlorothiazide | Lisinopril/Hydrochlorothiazide | 19 | suppressed |
| Pregabalin | Pregabalin | 19 | suppressed |
| Fluticasone Propionate | Fluticasone Propionate | 18 | suppressed |
| Farxiga | Dapagliflozin Propanediol | 17 | suppressed |
| Duloxetine Hcl | Duloxetine Hcl | 16 | suppressed |
| Mirtazapine | Mirtazapine | 16 | suppressed |
| Azithromycin | Azithromycin | 15 | 13 |
| Meloxicam | Meloxicam | 15 | 12 |
| Escitalopram Oxalate | Escitalopram Oxalate | 14 | suppressed |
| Sprintec | Norgestimate-Ethinyl Estradiol | 14 | suppressed |
| Spironolactone | Spironolactone | 13 | suppressed |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | Tamsulosin Hcl | 13 | suppressed |
| Tramadol Hcl Er | Tramadol Hcl | 13 | suppressed |
| Azelastine Hcl | Azelastine Hcl | 12 | suppressed |
| Enalapril Maleate | Enalapril Maleate | 12 | suppressed |
| Synthroid | Levothyroxine Sodium | 12 | suppressed |
| Tramadol Hcl | Tramadol Hcl | 12 | suppressed |
| Methylphenidate Er (La) | Methylphenidate Hcl | 11 | suppressed |
| Nystatin | Nystatin | 11 | suppressed |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | Pantoprazole Sodium | 11 | suppressed |
| Pravastatin Sodium | Pravastatin Sodium | 11 | suppressed |
Timeline
Payment and prescribing data by year
Open Payments and Medicare Part D may refer to different years. They are shown separately rather than aligned as if they describe the same period.
| Year | General Payments | Main payer | Explicit products | Company overlaps | Part D coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $59.76 · 3 records | Novo Nordisk Inc | CAPVAXIVE, GARDASIL 9, Ozempic, Rybelsus, VAXELIS | 2 | — |
| 2024 | — | — | — | — | Complete |
Questions to ask
Questions you could discuss with your doctor
- What role, if any, does Ozempic play in your treatment recommendations for me?
- How do you evaluate evidence when you have a financial relationship with Novo Nordisk Inc?
- Are there reasonable alternatives I should understand when we discuss treatment options?
- How should I interpret the industry-payment records shown here in the context of my care?
These are general questions generated from reviewed templates. They are not personalized medical advice.
Sources and limitations
How to read this page
- Payment and Medicare prescribing data can cover different years; every comparison shows both years explicitly.
- Part D does not represent a doctor’s entire practice; it excludes many patients and is subject to CMS public-release thresholds.
- Company–drug relationships must have an auditable source, a precise relationship type, and a valid evidence period. Unresolved mappings are not published.
- Generic drug claims are not attributed to a specific manufacturer without manufacturer-level evidence.
- When a source extract is incomplete, missing rows are never treated as proof of no payments or no prescriptions.
Loaded source releases
| Dataset | Year | Publication | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMS Open Payments — General Payments | 2025 | 2026-06-30 | Original source |
| Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug | 2024 | 2026-05-06 | Original source |
| NPPES Data Dissemination V2 | current / reference data | 2026-08-10 | Original source |
Full methodology · Questions & answers · Report a possible error