Arjun Tarakad
Neurology · Houston, TXNPI 1962793661
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $3,643 of the $4,054 with a category attached, or 89.9%. 10 manufacturers reported payments, led by Boston Scientific at 26.0% of the total.
Across 107 payments — averaging $37.88 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Boston Scientific$1K
- Medtronic$928
- Abbott$443
- Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC$434
- Acorda Therapeutics, Inc$390
- AbbVie$241
- plus $564 from 4 others
Across 122 payments — averaging $16,693 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.
- Genentech, Inc.$989K
- Roche TCRC, Inc.$622K
- AbbVie$351K
- Eli Lilly$54K
- Abbott$21K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$39010%
- Travel & lodging$120%
- Food & beverage$3,64390%
- Education$80%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Scientific | 13 | $1,053 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 15 | $928 |
| Abbott | 4 | $443 |
| Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 11 | $434 |
| Acorda Therapeutics, Inc | 19 | $390 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 14 | $241 |
| Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc | 8 | $203 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 14 | $166 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 5 | $104 |
| Merz North America, Inc. | 4 | $91 |
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
$4,054 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 1,246 neurology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AustedoDeutetrabenazine | 99 | $918,804 |
| NuplazidPimavanserin Tartrate | 66 | $453,860 |
| RytaryCarbidopa/Levodopa | 343 | $452,148 |
| Austedo XrDeutetrabenazine | 42 | $438,647 |
| IngrezzaValbenazine Tosylate | 40 | $319,146 |
| GocovriAmantadine Hcl | 66 | $181,355 |
| XadagoSafinamide Mesylate | 86 | $144,230 |
| Droxidopa | 16 | $118,339 |
| NeuproRotigotine | 26 | $52,081 |
| Carbidopa-LevodopaCarbidopa/Levodopa | 634 | $31,398 |
| OngentysOpicapone | 29 | $18,894 |
| Rivastigmine | 71 | $14,490 |
| Rasagiline Mesylate | 50 | $12,163 |
| Aimovig AutoinjectorErenumab-Aooe | 16 | $11,990 |
| Entacapone | 37 | $10,486 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.Austedo, Austedo Xr | $166 | $1,357,451141 claims |
| Acadia Pharmaceuticals IncNuplazid | $203 | $453,86066 claims |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.Ingrezza, Ongentys | $104 | $338,04069 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 55th percentile of 1,246 neurology providers in Texas.
Other neurology in Houston
- William OndoHouston$1.4M
- Pankaj SatijaHouston$1.1M
- Annette HowardHouston$826K
- Randolph EvansHouston$493K
- Leorah FreemanHouston$401K
- Mazen DimachkieHouston$388K
- Zsila SadighiHouston$361K
- Joseph JankovicHouston$323K
- Raja MehannaHouston$300K
- Eddie PattonHouston$299K
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.