Gerardo Chica, MD
Nephrology · San Antonio, TXNPI 1790760940
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $24,978 of the $38,794 with a category attached, or 64.4%. GE HealthCare accounts for 77.5% of it on its own, with 27 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $30,739 and has fallen 95.3% since, to $1,444 in 2025. Among nephrology 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 331 payments — averaging $117.20 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- GE HealthCare$30K
- Medtronic$2K
- AstraZeneca$2K
- Amgen$1K
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$702
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$488
- plus $3K from 22 others
Across 9 payments — averaging $14,650 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.
- Medtronic$132K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$24,97864%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5,10013%
- Travel & lodging$1,2393%
- Food & beverage$7,31519%
- Education$1620%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GE HealthCare | 2 | $30,078 |
| Medtronic | 16 | $1,701 |
| AstraZeneca | 67 | $1,558 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 59 | $1,406 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 29 | $702 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 38 | $488 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 20 | $441 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 15 | $318 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 8 | $305 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 11 | $290 |
| GSK | 11 | $212 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 9 | $202 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 5 | $170 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 6 | $137 |
| Bayer | 6 | $135 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 4 | $77 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $74 |
| Novartis | 3 | $71 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 4 | $68 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $58 |
| Mimedx Group, Inc. | 1 | $55 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 2 | $54 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 3 | $47 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Ascendis Pharma Endocrinology Inc | 1 | $35 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $9 |
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
$38,794 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| JynarqueTolvaptan | 13 | $240,915 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 113 | $111,756 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 12 | $20,841 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 26 | $10,378 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 11 | $3,126 |
| Allopurinol | 92 | $2,557 |
| Tacrolimus | 12 | $2,138 |
| Calcium Acetate | 21 | $1,991 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 35 | $1,522 |
| Losartan Potassium | 71 | $855 |
| Lisinopril | 76 | $667 |
| Chlorthalidone | 27 | $649 |
| Bumetanide | 13 | $638 |
| Ondansetron OdtOndansetron | 16 | $596 |
| Calcitriol | 28 | $557 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.Jynarque | $441 | $240,91513 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $1,558 | $111,756113 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $58 | $20,84112 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 1,070 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.