Fernando Cuascut, MD
Neurology · Houston, TXNPI 1134531692
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (54.7%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. It is spread thinly across 10 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.4%. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $23,952 and has fallen 89.7% since, to $2,475 in 2025. Among neurology clinicians in TX 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 186 payments — averaging $489.84 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$21K
- Biogen$19K
- EMD Serono, Inc.$18K
- Genentech USA, Inc.$16K
- Novartis$8K
- Sanofi$6K
- plus $3K from 4 others
Across 46 payments — averaging $8804.93 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.
- Genentech, Inc.$374K
- Biogen$30K
- F. Hoffmann-la Roche AG$2K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$49,80155%
- Speaking & faculty fees$17,60019%
- Grants$1,5002%
- Travel & lodging$6,0277%
- Food & beverage$12,18213%
- Charitable contribution$4,0004%
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) | 30 | $21,346 |
| Biogen | 39 | $19,174 |
| EMD Serono, Inc. | 38 | $17,632 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 19 | $16,315 |
| Novartis | 34 | $7,658 |
| Sanofi | 11 | $6,164 |
| TG Therapeutics, Inc. | 8 | $2,426 |
| AstraZeneca | 2 | $194 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 1 | $105 |
| AbbVie | 4 | $96 |
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
$91,110 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,246 neurology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kesimpta PenOfatumumab | 105 | $1,192,485 |
| VumerityDiroximel Fumarate | 24 | $218,317 |
| GlatopaGlatiramer Acetate | 33 | $75,462 |
| Dalfampridine ErDalfampridine | 96 | $49,597 |
| Dimethyl Fumarate | 17 | $44,215 |
| Glatiramer Acetate | 21 | $30,304 |
| Baclofen | 227 | $4,871 |
| Gabapentin | 196 | $4,185 |
| Armodafinil | 35 | $3,237 |
| Modafinil | 71 | $2,526 |
| AmantadineAmantadine Hcl | 39 | $1,267 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 61 | $1,192 |
| Pregabalin | 40 | $871 |
| Lacosamide | 17 | $687 |
| Bupropion XlBupropion Hcl | 26 | $563 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BiogenVumerity | $19,174 | $218,31724 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 1,246 neurology providers in Texas.
Other neurology in Houston
- William OndoHouston$1.4M
- Pankaj SatijaHouston$1.1M
- Annette HowardHouston$826K
- Randolph EvansHouston$493K
- Leorah FreemanHouston$401K
- Mazen DimachkieHouston$388K
- Zsila SadighiHouston$361K
- Joseph JankovicHouston$323K
- Raja MehannaHouston$300K
- Eddie PattonHouston$299K
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.