Choi-Ken Velasco, MD
Internal Medicine · Melbourne, FLNPI 1861486854
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 96.5% of the total across 343 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 39 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 19.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Among internal medicine clinicians in FL 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 343 payments — averaging $17.72 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Novo Nordisk$780
- AbbVie$640
- Pfizer$462
- Lilly USA, LLC$396
- Boehringer Ingelheim$321
- plus $2K from 33 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$5,86496%
- Education$2154%
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 | 67 | $1,155 |
| Novo Nordisk | 50 | $780 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 41 | $640 |
| Pfizer | 28 | $462 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 22 | $396 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 20 | $321 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 8 | $277 |
| Amgen | 15 | $251 |
| Exact Sciences | 12 | $248 |
| Abbott | 9 | $179 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 9 | $169 |
| Bayer | 8 | $157 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $112 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 5 | $90 |
| GSK | 5 | $85 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 5 | $79 |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 4 | $76 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 4 | $67 |
| Novartis | 3 | $53 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $45 |
| Verona Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 2 | $39 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 2 | $37 |
| Gilead | 2 | $27 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 2 | $24 |
| UCB, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Biofrontera Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 1 | $17 |
| Seqirus USA Inc | 1 | $16 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 1 | $16 |
| Eisai Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $15 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $14 |
How this compares
$6,079 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 8,530 internal medicine providers in Florida.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 138 | $133,698 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 95 | $125,072 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 87 | $91,399 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 56 | $77,228 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 33 | $48,128 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 31 | $40,174 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 17 | $29,566 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 11 | $20,029 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 30 | $19,154 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 12 | $18,829 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 23 | $16,568 |
| Breztri AerosphereBudesonide/Glycopyr/Formoterol | 16 | $16,059 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 21 | $14,238 |
| Anoro ElliptaUmeclidinium Brm/Vilanterol Tr | 24 | $12,617 |
| Repatha SyringeEvolocumab | 15 | $11,572 |
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 | $780 | $154,638112 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $462 | $133,698138 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Breztri Aerosphere | $1,155 | $107,458103 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Tradjenta | $321 | $87,88470 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $396 | $48,12833 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $169 | $40,17431 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta | $85 | $31,77154 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $67 | $20,02911 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $53 | $16,56823 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $277 | $14,23821 claims |
| AbbVieRestasis, Synthroid | $640 | $12,91760 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 8,530 internal medicine providers in Florida.
Other internal medicine in Melbourne
- Ronald CathcartMelbourne$150K
- Haytham ElgammalMiami$2.2M
- Keith RubinFort Lauderdale$2M
- Michael SensionFort Lauderdale$1M
- Quang NguyenOcala$434K
- Luis Correa LunaSanford$412K
- Michael OleksykFort Myers$365K
- Andrew KuykendallTampa$322K
- Howard FederoffCoconut Grove$302K
- Bianka EperjesiovaGainesville$260K
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.