Frank Cortazar, MD
Nephrology · Albany, NYNPI 1699060368
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $219,496 of the $288,989 with a category attached, or 76.0%. Amgen accounts for 72.0% of it on its own, with 21 other manufacturers making up the rest. Among nephrology clinicians in NY 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 295 payments — averaging $979.62 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$208K
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$31K
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$21K
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$13K
- Novartis$7K
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.$4K
- plus $6K from 16 others
Across 20 payments — averaging $42,616 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$328K
- Amgen$297K
- Vertex$191K
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$37K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$59,54321%
- Speaking & faculty fees$219,49676%
- Travel & lodging$5,1572%
- Food & beverage$4,7402%
- Education$530%
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) | 137 | $208,141 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 44 | $30,870 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 21 | $20,815 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 19 | $12,662 |
| Novartis | 13 | $7,173 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 4 | $3,679 |
| Vertex | 2 | $3,269 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 14 | $1,383 |
| GSK | 12 | $218 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 6 | $153 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 5 | $127 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $123 |
| Bayer | 3 | $80 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $71 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $62 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $42 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $15 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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
$288,989 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 935 nephrology providers in New York.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 95 | $120,931 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 63 | $73,331 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 31 | $50,470 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 18 | $16,572 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 37 | $5,104 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 12 | $4,970 |
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 12 | $1,630 |
| Losartan Potassium | 104 | $1,538 |
| Famotidine | 88 | $1,134 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 31 | $1,075 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 114 | $932 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 57 | $903 |
| Calcitriol | 43 | $894 |
| Valsartan | 18 | $784 |
| Labetalol Hcl | 12 | $645 |
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 | $1,383 | $137,503113 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $71 | $73,33163 claims |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Valsartan | $27 | $78418 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 935 nephrology providers in New York.
Other nephrology in Albany
- Vincent CarsilloAlbany$191K
- Elvira GosmanovaAlbany$50K
- Payam ShakouriPoughkeepsie$930K
- Gerald AppelNew York$842K
- Richard ChanNew York$514K
- Bruce SpinowitzBronx$465K
- Steven CocaNew York$445K
- Joseph RoglieriTroy$425K
- Jai RadhakrishnanNew York$369K
- Savneek ChughHawthorne$325K
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.