Hector Velez Cortes, MD
Hematology & Oncology · Ponce, PRNPI 1952405425
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 337 payments — averaging $9307.78 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$2.8M
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$146K
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$122K
- Incyte Corporation$43K
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$21K
- Pfizer$13K
- plus $260 from 7 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $167.14 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.
- Eli Lilly$167
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$28,96886%
- Speaking & faculty fees$3,56311%
- Travel & lodging$470%
- Food & beverage$1,1123%
- Education$960%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 213 | $2,791,573 |
| Janssen Research & Development, LLC | 32 | $146,343 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 14 | $121,841 |
| Incyte Corporation | 43 | $42,734 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 14 | $21,285 |
| Pfizer | 8 | $12,685 |
| Eli Lilly Export S.A. Puerto Rico Branch | 3 | $110 |
| PBG Puerto Rico LLC | 5 | $70 |
| Tempus AI, Inc | 1 | $23 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $20 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $15 |
| Amgen | 1 | $11 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $11 |
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.
- KEYTRUDA$18,388
How this compares
$3,136,721 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 138 hematology & oncology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RevlimidLenalidomide | 117 | $2,240,290 |
| IbrancePalbociclib | 69 | $1,091,328 |
| TasignaNilotinib Hcl | 45 | $746,764 |
| SprycelDasatinib | 45 | $568,330 |
| VenclextaVenetoclax | 33 | $431,192 |
| PomalystPomalidomide | 16 | $365,550 |
| LenvimaLenvatinib Mesylate | 14 | $344,705 |
| XtandiEnzalutamide | 25 | $344,529 |
| CalquenceAcalabrutinib Maleate | 21 | $325,364 |
| Lenalidomide | 20 | $292,816 |
| PromactaEltrombopag Olamine | 26 | $273,489 |
| LonsurfTrifluridine/Tipiracil Hcl | 17 | $268,954 |
| InlytaAxitinib | 12 | $245,067 |
| DarzalexDaratumumab | 43 | $210,956 |
| VerzenioAbemaciclib | 12 | $185,169 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerIbrance, Inlyta, Retacrit, Eliquis | $12,685 | $1,364,264104 claims |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.Sprycel, Pomalyst | $21,285 | $933,87961 claims |
| AstraZenecaCalquence | $20 | $325,36421 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonDarzalex, Xarelto | $15 | $220,16859 claims |
| AmgenProlia | $11 | $46,87326 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 138 hematology & oncology providers in Puerto Rico.
Other hematology & oncology in Ponce
- Anna di MarcoPonce$43K
- Jose CangianoPonce$34K
- Marynoll de la PazPonce$18K
- Mirelis AcostaSan Juan$6.3M
- Luis FloresSan Juan$2.3M
- Noridza Rivera RodriguezSan Juan$2.1M
- Adelba Torres-LopezSan Juan$1.9M
- Maria Garcia PallasCaguas$1.8M
- Karina Arocho-GonzalezHato Rey$1.1M
- Jose Lozada CostasSan Juan$934K
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.