Ernie Riffer, MD
Internal Medicine · Phoenix, AZNPI 1134284268
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.4% of the total across 206 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 35 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 13.9% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,096 and has fallen 88.7% since, to $124 in 2025. Among internal medicine clinicians in AZ 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 206 payments — averaging $20.03 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$572
- Amgen$486
- AbbVie$429
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$227
- Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$199
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$170
- plus $2K from 29 others
Across 1,257 payments — averaging $2518.06 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.
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$984K
- Novo Nordisk AS$576K
- Valneva Austria GmbH$553K
- AbbVie$243K
- Sanofi US Services Inc.$209K
- Regeneron$162K
- plus $439K from 7 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,06298%
- Education$652%
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 | 26 | $572 |
| Amgen | 28 | $486 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 18 | $429 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 16 | $227 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 7 | $199 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 11 | $170 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 8 | $150 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $149 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 9 | $144 |
| Boston Scientific | 6 | $134 |
| Argenx US, Inc. | 1 | $125 |
| UCB, Inc. | 1 | $124 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 6 | $113 |
| Abbott | 5 | $105 |
| Novo Nordisk | 6 | $100 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 6 | $94 |
| Merck | 8 | $93 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 5 | $84 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 6 | $84 |
| Pfizer | 5 | $81 |
| GSK | 4 | $69 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 5 | $65 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 3 | $63 |
| Eisai Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 2 | $28 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 1 | $24 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $21 |
| Valeritas, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $14 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $14 |
| Gilead | 1 | $13 |
| Bayer | 1 | $13 |
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.
- Alecensa$149
- TECENTRIQ$149
- QULIPTA$125
- UBRELVY$125
- VYVGART HYTRULO$125
- Briviact$124
- NURTEC ODT$103
How this compares
$4,126 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 2,212 internal medicine providers in Arizona.
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 | 67 | $62,897 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 60 | $61,805 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 39 | $46,444 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 31 | $46,421 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 35 | $44,329 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 32 | $34,276 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 34 | $31,746 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 22 | $25,679 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 16 | $23,729 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 18 | $22,892 |
| Breo ElliptaFluticasone/Vilanterol | 31 | $16,535 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 13 | $11,481 |
| Lantus SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 68 | $10,772 |
| Anoro ElliptaUmeclidinium Brm/Vilanterol Tr | 21 | $10,257 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 11 | $10,116 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lilly USA, LLCTrulicity, Mounjaro | $84 | $72,10053 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus | $100 | $67,22253 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $81 | $62,89767 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $150 | $61,80560 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta | $69 | $61,06884 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Symbicort | $572 | $55,38665 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $113 | $31,74634 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $144 | $23,72916 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess, Synthroid | $429 | $15,61952 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 2,212 internal medicine providers in Arizona.
Other internal medicine in Phoenix
- Frank LovecchioPhoenix$911K
- Nasser HajaigPhoenix$687K
- Kelly KrohnPhoenix$262K
- Paul StanderPhoenix$222K
- Howard GrossmanPhoenix$131K
- Nafis Shamsid-DeenPhoenix$115K
- Shishir MurarkaPhoenix$79K
- Mark WongPhoenix$71K
- Geoffrey OrmePhoenix$27K
- Roberto RuizPhoenix$25K
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.