Joel Mermis, MD
Pulmonary Disease · Kansas City, KSNPI 1396814430
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 1 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. Every reported general payment came from a single manufacturer, Vertex. That places this record below the midpoint for pulmonary disease clinicians in KS, where the typical reported total is $1,991.
Across 1 payment — averaging $65.72 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Vertex$66
Across 24 payments — averaging $15,004 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.
- Vertex$275K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$38K
- Nabriva Therapeutics, PLC$36K
- AbbVie$11K
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$1K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$66100%
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vertex | 1 | $66 |
How this compares
$66 in reported general payments places this provider in the 10th percentile of 92 pulmonary disease providers in Kansas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| TrikaftaElexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaft | 120 | $2,931,532 |
| CreonLipase/Protease/Amylase | 40 | $255,792 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 81 | $81,165 |
| PertzyeLipase/Protease/Amylase | 19 | $70,196 |
| Dupixent PenDupilumab | 15 | $56,131 |
| NucalaMepolizumab | 14 | $48,521 |
| Breztri AerosphereBudesonide/Glycopyr/Formoterol | 40 | $31,441 |
| Breo ElliptaFluticasone/Vilanterol | 43 | $17,825 |
| Stiolto RespimatTiotropium Br/Olodaterol Hcl | 17 | $9,699 |
| Anoro ElliptaUmeclidinium Brm/Vilanterol Tr | 15 | $6,737 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 42 | $1,897 |
| Ventolin HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 18 | $1,653 |
| Azithromycin | 81 | $1,540 |
| Omeprazole | 12 | $266 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 18 | $124 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VertexTrikafta | $66 | $2,931,532120 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 10th percentile of 92 pulmonary disease providers in Kansas.
Other pulmonary disease in Kansas City
- Mario CastroKansas City$1.9M
- Matthew SharpeKansas City$602K
- Chase HallKansas City$329K
- Maykol Postigo JasahuiKansas City$322K
- Andreas SchmidKansas City$26K
- Harold BarkmanKansas City$24K
- Heath LathamKansas City$15K
- Kyle BrownbackKansas City$15K
- Michelle HomanKansas City$8K
- Aman KhanKansas City$5K
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.