Ajay Rachakonda, MD
Nephrology · Visalia, CANPI 1467605014
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 346 payments — averaging $19.07 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$913
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$770
- Amgen$651
- Johnson & Johnson$328
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$314
- Bayer$303
- plus $3K from 22 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$6,22794%
- Education$3716%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 50 | $913 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 35 | $770 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 35 | $651 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 14 | $328 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 26 | $314 |
| Bayer | 15 | $303 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 17 | $292 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 14 | $285 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 13 | $282 |
| GSK | 15 | $282 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 19 | $278 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 14 | $225 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 11 | $220 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 12 | $199 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 8 | $191 |
| Novo Nordisk | 10 | $186 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 11 | $181 |
| Novartis | 10 | $172 |
| Abbott | 2 | $164 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 6 | $136 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $95 |
| Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $19 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $14 |
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.
- CardioMEMS HF System$141
- INVOKANA$114
How this compares
$6,598 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 1,341 nephrology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 114 | $123,677 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 89 | $121,461 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 21 | $102,010 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 69 | $76,847 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 54 | $74,983 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 50 | $59,140 |
| XphozahTenapanor Hcl | 20 | $55,337 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 21 | $42,782 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 17 | $36,951 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 116 | $36,658 |
| ProcritEpoetin Alfa | 46 | $34,417 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 16 | $26,659 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 37 | $20,099 |
| TradjentaLinagliptin | 12 | $13,336 |
| Lanthanum Carbonate | 11 | $10,405 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus | $186 | $166,459135 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $913 | $151,830123 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Tradjenta | $220 | $134,797101 claims |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $199 | $102,01021 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonProcrit | $328 | $34,41746 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $303 | $26,65916 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 75th percentile of 1,341 nephrology providers in California.
Other nephrology in Visalia
- Anjay RastogiLos Angeles$6.3M
- Aamir JamalSan Dimas$5.5M
- Mohamed El-ShahawyLos Angeles$4.4M
- Kalpesh PatelCalabasas$3.6M
- Jehad HaggiagiMission Hills$3.6M
- Malvin YanSouth Gate$3.3M
- Sohan DuaNorthridge$3.2M
- Richard LafayetteStanford$3M
- Anant DesaiGranada Hills$2.9M
- Glenn ChertowStanford$2.2M
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.