Hector Mendez Rivera, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Carolina, PRNPI 1205949906
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $6,821 of the $10,170 with a category attached, or 67.1%. It is spread thinly across 15 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.4%. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $3,244 and has fallen 85.9% since, to $456 in 2025.
Across 179 payments — averaging $56.82 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$2K
- Biotronik Inc.$2K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$1K
- PBG Puerto Rico LLC$849
- Abbott$776
- Boston Scientific$773
- plus $2K from 9 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,17012%
- Travel & lodging$2,16821%
- Food & beverage$6,82167%
- Education$110%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson | 46 | $2,377 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 2 | $2,168 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 18 | $1,160 |
| PBG Puerto Rico LLC | 37 | $849 |
| Abbott | 14 | $776 |
| Boston Scientific | 9 | $773 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 28 | $729 |
| Amgen | 11 | $496 |
| Medtronic | 3 | $291 |
| AstraZeneca | 4 | $149 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $115 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $100 |
| Merck | 1 | $100 |
| Novartis | 3 | $68 |
| Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $20 |
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.
- XARELTO$1,270
- JARDIANCE$750
- WATCHMAN FLX$332
- Repatha$238
- GALLANT$230
- CARDIOBLATE CRYOFLEX$140
- NA$136
- EMBLEM MRI S-ICD$127
- UNIFY ASSURA$110
- BRILINTA$105
- Watchman$104
- ENSITE PRECISION$102
- STEGLATRO$100
- LifeVest$100
How this compares
$10,170 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 267 cardiovascular disease providers in Puerto Rico.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 526 | $360,288 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 168 | $128,963 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 106 | $80,743 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 105 | $62,484 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 73 | $56,090 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 81 | $49,837 |
| Verapamil ErVerapamil Hcl | 529 | $17,631 |
| Candesartan Cilexetil | 145 | $12,540 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 816 | $12,366 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 1,273 | $12,041 |
| Candesartan-HydrochlorothiazidCandesartan/Hydrochlorothiazid | 95 | $11,045 |
| Losartan Potassium | 934 | $9,961 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 12 | $9,197 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 574 | $7,662 |
| Irbesartan | 249 | $6,397 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $2,377 | $128,963168 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $1,160 | $80,743106 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $68 | $56,09073 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $149 | $55,83394 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $100 | $9,19712 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 80th percentile of 267 cardiovascular disease providers in Puerto Rico.
Other cardiovascular disease in Carolina
- Luis Renta RosaCarolina$83K
- Hector BanchsCarolina$41K
- Karen Rodriguez MaldonadoMayaguez$231K
- Jose NovoaBayamon$209K
- Manuel GuzmanSan Juan$203K
- Luis Rosado CarrilloGuaynabo$173K
- Jorge GonzalezCaguas$114K
- Luis GelyCaguas$89K
- Ramon PereaSan Juan$68K
- Denis Ruiz SerranoGuaynabo$66K
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.