Esteban Cedillo-Couvert, MD
Nephrology · San Antonio, TXNPI 1407023476
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 29 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 14 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 21.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $597 and has fallen 96.7% since, to $20 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for nephrology clinicians in TX, where the typical reported total is $1,420.
Across 29 payments — averaging $59.19 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$360
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$335
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$218
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$125
- Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC$124
- Novo Nordisk$117
- plus $439 from 8 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,717100%
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(2 entities) | 3 | $360 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 12 | $335 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 2 | $218 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $125 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $124 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $117 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $112 |
| Amgen | 1 | $103 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $86 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 2 | $69 |
| GSK | 1 | $20 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Daiichi Sankyo 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
$1,717 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ProcritEpoetin Alfa | 136 | $151,191 |
| XphozahTenapanor Hcl | 45 | $132,679 |
| RayaldeeCalcifediol | 64 | $98,417 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 111 | $87,745 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 44 | $53,236 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 67 | $18,961 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 11 | $16,368 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 12 | $14,410 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 12 | $13,848 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 18 | $9,713 |
| Calcium Acetate | 32 | $3,648 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 107 | $2,826 |
| Lisinopril | 290 | $1,795 |
| Bumetanide | 51 | $1,729 |
| Furosemide | 164 | $1,325 |
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 | $360 | $140,981155 claims |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLCRayaldee | $335 | $98,41764 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $117 | $13,84812 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 50th percentile of 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
Other nephrology in San Antonio
- Luis VelezSan Antonio$505K
- Rashid SharafSan Antonio$340K
- Carl DukesSan Antonio$238K
- Pablo PergolaSan Antonio$164K
- Varshasb BroumandSan Antonio$118K
- Shweta BansalSan Antonio$89K
- Rajeev NarayanSan Antonio$57K
- Anwar GergesSan Antonio$50K
- Matthew SchaeferSan Antonio$46K
- Kumar SharmaSan Antonio$45K
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.