Hernan Castro-Rueda, MD
Rheumatology · Mission Viejo, CANPI 1720162092
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.0% of the total across 1,067 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 40 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 18.7% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 1,067 payments — averaging $20.60 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$4K
- AbbVie$4K
- Johnson & Johnson$2K
- Novartis$2K
- UCB, Inc.$1K
- Lilly USA, LLC$1K
- plus $7K from 34 others
Across 3 payments — averaging $2728.00 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.
- Astrazeneca UK Limited$8K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$500%
- Food & beverage$21,53498%
- Education$3912%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 241 | $4,120 |
| AbbVie | 178 | $4,086 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 95 | $1,881 |
| Novartis | 92 | $1,854 |
| UCB, Inc. | 61 | $1,322 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 41 | $1,261 |
| GSK | 50 | $1,202 |
| Pfizer | 62 | $985 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 39 | $780 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 16 | $527 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 30 | $417 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 16 | $368 |
| Sobi, Inc | 13 | $346 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 11 | $341 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 13 | $339 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 18 | $320 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 16 | $282 |
| Sanofi | 7 | $177 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 7 | $174 |
| Medexus Pharma, Inc. | 9 | $123 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 2 | $118 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 6 | $91 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $87 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 4 | $85 |
| Alvogen Inc | 4 | $85 |
| Organon | 4 | $80 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 3 | $70 |
| Merck | 2 | $70 |
| Octapharma USA, Inc. | 3 | $60 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $53 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $44 |
| Zyla Life Sciences, Inc. | 3 | $44 |
| Tonix Medicines, Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 2 | $29 |
| Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $27 |
| Sandoz | 1 | $23 |
| Gilead | 1 | $23 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 1 | $18 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Iroko Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $13 |
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
$21,975 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 808 rheumatology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 18 | $199,723 |
| Xeljanz XrTofacitinib Citrate | 33 | $195,893 |
| OtezlaApremilast | 19 | $84,281 |
| RemicadeInfliximab | 15 | $69,432 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 578 | $24,354 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 218 | $6,424 |
| Colchicine | 35 | $2,801 |
| Prednisone | 322 | $2,077 |
| Celecoxib | 80 | $1,993 |
| Allopurinol | 211 | $1,912 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 27 | $1,909 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 16 | $1,490 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 71 | $1,429 |
| Leflunomide | 31 | $1,328 |
| Methylprednisolone | 96 | $1,247 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AmgenOtezla | $4,120 | $84,28119 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonRemicade | $1,881 | $69,43215 claims |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.Colchicine | $44 | $2,80135 claims |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLCSodium Chloride | $341 | $711 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 808 rheumatology providers in California.
Other rheumatology in Mission Viejo
- William ShielMission Viejo$924K
- Sudhakar TumuluriSan Francisco$2.8M
- Ara DikranianSan Diego$2.2M
- Orrin TroumSanta Monica$1.8M
- Robin DoreTustin$1.5M
- Samy MetyasCovina$1.3M
- Rhonda LambertSan Mateo$1.1M
- Mark BoriginiDowney$920K
- Adam KreitenbergTarzana$863K
- Roger KornuTustin$802K
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.