Carolina Arias, MD
Nephrology · San Antonio, TXNPI 1972761849
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 407 payments — averaging $388.62 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- GSK$149K
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$1K
- Amgen$1K
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Bayer$686
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$566
- plus $4K from 25 others
Across 2 payments — averaging $518.65 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.
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$1K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$9,79199%
- Education$641%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GSK | 34 | $148,617 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 84 | $1,388 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 56 | $1,312 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 48 | $1,290 |
| Bayer | 24 | $686 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 22 | $566 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 22 | $544 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 16 | $389 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 16 | $371 |
| Novo Nordisk | 10 | $289 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 14 | $287 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 10 | $283 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 7 | $268 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 4 | $265 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 2 | $233 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 5 | $213 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 4 | $179 |
| Novartis | 6 | $138 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $125 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $120 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $112 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 5 | $103 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $86 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 2 | $69 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $60 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 3 | $57 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 2 | $29 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
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
$158,167 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,070 nephrology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 241 | $218,213 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 130 | $148,158 |
| XphozahTenapanor Hcl | 40 | $135,179 |
| ProcritEpoetin Alfa | 91 | $124,327 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 99 | $122,640 |
| RayaldeeCalcifediol | 64 | $109,296 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 26 | $78,106 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 45 | $57,846 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 36 | $54,927 |
| TradjentaLinagliptin | 74 | $51,730 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 37 | $40,807 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 14 | $33,791 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 21 | $32,040 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 23 | $30,971 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 23 | $29,280 |
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 | $1,290 | $340,852340 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro, Trulicity | $283 | $180,199151 claims |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLCRayaldee | $1,388 | $109,29664 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $289 | $57,84645 claims |
| Akebia Therapeutics IncAuryxia | $566 | $33,79114 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $686 | $30,97123 claims |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.Gemtesa | $57 | $19,98517 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 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
Other nephrology in San Antonio
- Pablo PergolaSan Antonio$14.2M
- Tahira AlvesSan Antonio$6.1M
- Carl DukesSan Antonio$5.9M
- Chinonye Ogbonnaya-OdorSan Antonio$4.6M
- Wesley CalhounSan Antonio$3.5M
- Shweta BansalSan Antonio$1.7M
- Robert SzewcSan Antonio$1.5M
- Rashid SharafSan Antonio$661K
- Varshasb BroumandSan Antonio$538K
- Luis VelezSan Antonio$505K
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.