Jill Vargo, MD
Rheumatology · Asheville, NCNPI 1205899143
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $197,847 of the $244,880 with a category attached, or 80.8%. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 26.9% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $72,482, 2.1 times the $34,111 reported in 2019. Among rheumatology clinicians in NC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 662 payments — averaging $369.91 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$66K
- Johnson & Johnson$60K
- Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC$55K
- Amgen$52K
- GSK$6K
- Lilly USA, LLC$3K
- plus $2K from 19 others
Across 6 payments — averaging $2072.29 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$12K
- Novartis$717
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$13,3755%
- Speaking & faculty fees$197,84781%
- Travel & lodging$20,6968%
- Food & beverage$12,7845%
- Education$1600%
- Gifts$180%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 153 | $65,884 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 160 | $60,262 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 54 | $54,916 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 186 | $52,138 |
| GSK | 9 | $6,268 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 5 | $2,943 |
| Pfizer | 27 | $503 |
| Sanofi | 6 | $349 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 10 | $260 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 13 | $254 |
| UCB, Inc. | 5 | $224 |
| Novartis | 9 | $196 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 3 | $150 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 3 | $128 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $89 |
| Galderma Laboratories, L.p. | 2 | $46 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 2 | $45 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 2 | $42 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Organon | 1 | $29 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $21 |
| Sandoz | 1 | $20 |
| Ascend Therapeutics US, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Sobi, Inc | 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.
How this compares
$244,880 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 210 rheumatology providers in North Carolina.
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 | 63 | $615,232 |
| RinvoqUpadacitinib | 69 | $440,569 |
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 41 | $303,599 |
| EnbrelEtanercept | 23 | $166,874 |
| BenlystaBelimumab | 26 | $136,132 |
| Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab | 13 | $90,364 |
| Orencia ClickjectAbatacept | 11 | $60,902 |
| ForteoTeriparatide | 12 | $47,942 |
| TymlosAbaloparatide | 14 | $36,275 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 524 | $17,019 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 546 | $11,335 |
| CelebrexCelecoxib | 13 | $6,543 |
| Celecoxib | 221 | $5,884 |
| Cevimeline Hcl | 17 | $5,180 |
| Sulfasalazine DrSulfasalazine | 115 | $4,749 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieRinvoq | $65,884 | $440,56969 claims |
| AmgenEnbrel | $52,138 | $166,87423 claims |
| GSKBenlysta | $6,268 | $136,13226 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCForteo | $2,943 | $47,94212 claims |
| Radius Health, Inc.Tymlos | $150 | $36,27514 claims |
| PfizerCelebrex | $503 | $6,54313 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 210 rheumatology providers in North Carolina.
Other rheumatology in Asheville
- Kristin GowinAsheville$206K
- Steven MendelsohnAsheville$9K
- Gordon LamCharlotte$2.7M
- Ralph SnydermanDurham$1.3M
- Wendy SimmonsWilmington$462K
- Andrew LasterCharlotte$421K
- Ana RossRaleigh$417K
- Gwenesta MeltonFayetteville$410K
- Joseph ShanahanDurham$407K
- Jill ZouzoulasCharlotte$377K
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.