Christopher Chong, MD
Rheumatology · Colorado Springs, CONPI 1831329978
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.5% of the total across 622 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 35 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 31.9% of the total.
Across 622 payments — averaging $17.73 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$4K
- Amgen$2K
- Pfizer$977
- UCB, Inc.$871
- AstraZeneca$584
- GSK$567
- plus $2K from 29 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$10,978100%
- Education$500%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 204 | $3,523 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 125 | $2,283 |
| Pfizer | 71 | $977 |
| UCB, Inc. | 29 | $871 |
| AstraZeneca | 28 | $584 |
| GSK | 41 | $567 |
| Novartis | 31 | $524 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 20 | $230 |
| Sobi, Inc | 6 | $168 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 9 | $162 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 9 | $146 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 7 | $123 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 5 | $112 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $100 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 4 | $96 |
| Organon | 4 | $81 |
| Octapharma USA, Inc. | 3 | $59 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 2 | $47 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 2 | $43 |
| Celltrion USA Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 2 | $35 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 1 | $29 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $25 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $22 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. | 1 | $18 |
| Gilead | 1 | $17 |
| Oxford Immunotec USA Inc | 1 | $16 |
| Merck | 1 | $16 |
| Avion Pharmaceuticals | 1 | $15 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $14 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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
$11,028 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 108 rheumatology providers in Colorado.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 69 | $611,963 |
| EnbrelEtanercept | 50 | $374,761 |
| HumiraAdalimumab | 33 | $238,763 |
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 33 | $220,814 |
| RinvoqUpadacitinib | 29 | $188,800 |
| XeljanzTofacitinib Citrate | 23 | $123,737 |
| Cimzia (2 Pack)Certolizumab Pegol | 11 | $61,360 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 168 | $8,172 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 260 | $6,641 |
| Prednisone | 206 | $1,643 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 14 | $1,618 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 12 | $1,600 |
| Leflunomide | 25 | $1,557 |
| Febuxostat | 12 | $1,363 |
| Colchicine | 30 | $1,160 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieHumira, Rinvoq | $3,523 | $427,56362 claims |
| AmgenEnbrel | $2,283 | $374,76150 claims |
| PfizerXeljanz | $977 | $123,73723 claims |
| UCB, Inc.Cimzia (2 Pack) | $871 | $61,36011 claims |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.Colchicine | $14 | $1,16030 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 80th percentile of 108 rheumatology providers in Colorado.
Other rheumatology in Colorado Springs
- David TheisColorado Springs$61K
- Artur KalutaColorado Springs$7K
- Megan MacneilColorado Springs$6K
- Christopher InserraColorado Springs$5K
- Dan CristescuColorado Springs$4K
- Michael SayersColorado Springs$2K
- James LevineGreeley$130K
- Aryeh FischerDenver$114K
- Adam BerlinbergDenver$94K
- Rennie McCabeDenver$58K
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.