Ernesto Rodriguez, MD
Rheumatology · Zephyrhills, FLNPI 1457546731
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $762,786 of the $958,128 with a category attached, or 79.6%. 37 manufacturers reported payments, led by Amgen at 55.1% of the total. Among rheumatology clinicians in FL with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 2,538 payments — averaging $377.51 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$527K
- AbbVie$157K
- Lilly USA, LLC$98K
- Sanofi$95K
- Bristol Myers Squibb$33K
- Novartis$14K
- plus $34K from 31 others
Across 10 payments — averaging $15,767 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.
- Novartis$138K
- AbbVie$18K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$1K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$69,4067%
- Speaking & faculty fees$762,78680%
- Travel & lodging$70,1697%
- Food & beverage$55,2606%
- Education$5090%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 945 | $527,468 |
| AbbVie | 482 | $157,043 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 196 | $97,617 |
| Sanofi | 127 | $94,689 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 45 | $32,976 |
| Novartis | 82 | $13,860 |
| Pfizer | 135 | $11,702 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 66 | $4,910 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 10 | $3,528 |
| UCB, Inc. | 87 | $2,821 |
| GSK | 59 | $1,623 |
| Abiomed | 4 | $1,504 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 49 | $1,307 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 42 | $1,041 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 24 | $1,009 |
| Gilead | 2 | $974 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 46 | $736 |
| Sobi, Inc | 18 | $486 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 24 | $403 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 20 | $385 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 16 | $342 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 5 | $244 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 8 | $208 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 8 | $187 |
| Organon | 7 | $153 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 1 | $141 |
| Abbott | 1 | $121 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 6 | $112 |
| Mckesson Specialty Care Distribution, LLC | 5 | $107 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 4 | $100 |
| Medtronic | 3 | $80 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $70 |
| Zyla Life Sciences, Inc. | 3 | $53 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $48 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $46 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $20 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 1 | $15 |
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
$958,128 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 453 rheumatology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Skyrizi PenRisankizumab-Rzaa | 13 | $300,888 |
| Simponi AriaGolimumab | 20 | $120,634 |
| ForteoTeriparatide | 22 | $100,099 |
| Cosentyx Sensoready (2 Pens)Secukinumab | 11 | $88,800 |
| RinvoqUpadacitinib | 12 | $87,570 |
| Actemra ActpenTocilizumab | 16 | $60,832 |
| ProliaDenosumab | 27 | $48,173 |
| BenlystaBelimumab | 12 | $37,062 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 318 | $9,038 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 101 | $3,138 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 216 | $2,630 |
| Colchicine | 33 | $1,677 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 83 | $1,436 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 62 | $1,333 |
| Leflunomide | 35 | $1,305 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonSimponi Aria | $4,910 | $120,63420 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCForteo | $97,617 | $100,09922 claims |
| AbbVieRinvoq | $157,043 | $87,57012 claims |
| AmgenProlia | $527,468 | $48,17327 claims |
| GSKBenlysta | $1,623 | $37,06212 claims |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.Colchicine | $48 | $1,67733 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 95th percentile of 453 rheumatology providers in Florida.
Other rheumatology in Zephyrhills
- David RiveraZephyrhills$80K
- Natalie FaithZephyrhills$61K
- Alvin WellsDestin$2.4M
- Guillermo ValenzuelaPlantation$1.5M
- Julio Gonzalez-PaoliTampa$1.4M
- Vinicius Costa Diniz DominguesDaytona Beach$921K
- Jonathan GreerBoynton Beach$757K
- Jigar ShahMargate$750K
- Rachel TateHollywood$729K
- Howard BuschLoxahatchee$717K
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.