Frank Wellborne
Rheumatology · New Braunfels, TXNPI 1780714857
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $1,021,766 of the $1,443,927 with a category attached, or 70.8%. It is spread thinly across 15 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.0%. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $316,653 and has fallen 60.7% since, to $124,444 in 2025. Among rheumatology clinicians in TX 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 1,511 payments — averaging $955.61 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$332K
- AstraZeneca$292K
- Johnson & Johnson$207K
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$195K
- Novartis$96K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$96K
- plus $226K from 9 others
Across 5 payments — averaging $1507.50 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.
- Pfizer$5K
- Astrazeneca UK Limited$3K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$77,9145%
- Speaking & faculty fees$1,021,76671%
- Travel & lodging$305,39021%
- Food & beverage$38,5933%
- Education$2640%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 400 | $331,640 |
| AstraZeneca | 268 | $291,637 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 192 | $206,539 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 188 | $195,449 |
| Novartis | 112 | $96,146 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 75 | $96,140 |
| Sanofi | 82 | $78,855 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 69 | $70,024 |
| UCB, Inc. | 51 | $32,087 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 27 | $23,878 |
| Pfizer | 25 | $16,886 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 11 | $3,806 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 7 | $449 |
| Amgen | 3 | $308 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 1 | $84 |
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
$1,443,927 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 512 rheumatology providers in Texas.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 22 | $1,157 |
| Prednisone | 28 | $257 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other rheumatology in New Braunfels
- Robert KimelheimNew Braunfels$384K
- John CushDallas$3.7M
- Sanjay ChabraEl Paso$3.3M
- Dhiman BasuColleyville$1.8M
- Christopher ParkerWest Lake Hills$1.4M
- Pendleton WickershamSan Antonio$954K
- Henry TownsendPlano$738K
- Zoran KurepaDallas$483K
- Giovanni GeslaniDallas$415K
- Dianne PetroneDallas$401K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.