George Vasquez Rios, MD
Nephrology · Albuquerque, NMNPI 1386179349
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (55.3%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Travere Therapeutics, Inc. accounts for 66.2% of it on its own, with 18 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $18,309, more than ten times the $87 reported in 2023. Among nephrology clinicians in NM 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 102 payments — averaging $247.01 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$17K
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$3K
- Novartis$3K
- Vertex$708
- Amgen$333
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$167
- plus $805 from 13 others
Across 2 payments — averaging $16,006 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.
- Sanofi$24K
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$8K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$13,94555%
- Speaking & faculty fees$1,7067%
- Travel & lodging$5,41822%
- Food & beverage$4,12616%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 32 | $16,681 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 17 | $3,495 |
| Novartis | 5 | $3,005 |
| Vertex | 2 | $708 |
| Amgen | 15 | $333 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 3 | $167 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $150 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 3 | $139 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 1 | $104 |
| GSK | 6 | $92 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 5 | $88 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $52 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $44 |
| Renalytix AI, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Bayer | 1 | $16 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $16 |
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.
- TARPEYO$3,123
- Fabhalta$2,914
- Filspari$728
- LUPKYNIS$124
- NXSTAGE SYSTEM ONE$104
- LIBERTY SELECT CYCLER$104
How this compares
$25,195 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 68 nephrology providers in New Mexico.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 32 | $95,489 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 62 | $47,478 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 35 | $38,094 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 19 | $21,030 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 28 | $15,343 |
| Bumetanide | 32 | $1,528 |
| Lisinopril | 98 | $1,004 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 45 | $828 |
| Labetalol Hcl | 21 | $797 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 18 | $762 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 96 | $675 |
| Furosemide | 105 | $569 |
| Carvedilol | 52 | $455 |
| Losartan Potassium | 59 | $449 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 29 | $409 |
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 | $88 | $85,57397 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $16 | $21,03019 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 68 nephrology providers in New Mexico.
Other nephrology in Albuquerque
- Satyaki BanerjeeAlbuquerque$260K
- Christos ArgyropoulosAlbuquerque$32K
- Arun RajasekaranAlbuquerque$32K
- Jayant KumarAlbuquerque$12K
- Luis Madera MarinAlbuquerque$7K
- Hector CastroAlbuquerque$7K
- Chudi AdiAlbuquerque$7K
- Dale EricksonAlbuquerque$6K
- Lei ChenAlbuquerque$5K
- Sonam KundelingAlbuquerque$4K
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.