John Merlino, DO
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology · Toms River, NJNPI 1811013246
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $10,104 of the $15,131 with a category attached, or 66.8%. 23 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 38.6% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $6,515, 2.5 times the $2,559 reported in 2019. That places this record below the midpoint for clinical cardiac electrophysiology clinicians in NJ, where the typical reported total is $15,131.
Across 257 payments — averaging $58.88 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$6K
- Boston Scientific$5K
- Abbott$3K
- Johnson & Johnson$244
- AstraZeneca$198
- Baxter Healthcare$169
- plus $859 from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$4,95333%
- Food & beverage$10,10467%
- Education$740%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 61 | $5,838 |
| Boston Scientific | 75 | $4,828 |
| Abbott | 47 | $2,996 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 17 | $244 |
| AstraZeneca | 9 | $198 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 6 | $169 |
| Novartis | 6 | $101 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 2 | $100 |
| Pfizer | 7 | $98 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 1 | $91 |
| Philips North America LLC | 4 | $67 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 5 | $66 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 2 | $58 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 3 | $55 |
| Merck | 3 | $47 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 2 | $29 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Altathera Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Terumo Medical Corporation | 1 | $16 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, 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.
- AVEIR$1,759
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$1,128
- AURORA EV-ICD MRI SURESCAN$517
- Micra$352
- EMBLEM$352
- ACCOLADE$335
- SYMPLICITY G3$306
- Reveal LINQ$130
- GENERAL TACHY$129
- RESONATE$123
- Amplia MRI$109
- ACCOLADE SR$105
How this compares
$15,131 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 102 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in New Jersey.
See all clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in New Jersey →
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 | 186 | $246,543 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 46 | $58,472 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 13 | $13,454 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 97 | $4,912 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 118 | $3,594 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 200 | $3,173 |
| Dofetilide | 11 | $2,320 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 22 | $1,533 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 94 | $1,371 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 37 | $902 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 39 | $838 |
| Digoxin | 30 | $729 |
| Carvedilol | 59 | $600 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 46 | $594 |
| Cartia XtDiltiazem Hcl | 14 | $470 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $98 | $246,543186 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $244 | $58,47246 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $29 | $13,45413 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 50th percentile of 102 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in New Jersey.
Other clinical cardiac electrophysiology in Toms River
- Benjamin D SouzaCherry Hill$741K
- Suneet MittalParamus$722K
- George MarkHaddon Heights$312K
- Raffaele CorbisieroBrowns Mills$135K
- Emad AzizNewark$112K
- Marc RoelkeWest Orange$110K
- Arjun TheerthamParlin$102K
- Michael LinkGalloway$96K
- Grant SimonsEnglewood$93K
- Jonathan SteinbergRidgewood$85K
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.