John Sassano, MD
Pain Medicine · Melbourne, FLNPI 1164410650
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 136 payments — averaging $29.87 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Spinal Simplicity, LLC$2K
- AbbVie$425
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$279
- Novartis$248
- Protega Pharmaceutials Inc$226
- Nevro Corp.$145
- plus $1K from 28 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,32633%
- Food & beverage$2,71567%
- Education$211%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Spinal Simplicity, LLC | 9 | $1,541 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 22 | $425 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 20 | $279 |
| Novartis | 12 | $248 |
| Protega Pharmaceutials Inc | 4 | $226 |
| Nevro Corp. | 8 | $145 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 5 | $132 |
| Pfizer | 6 | $117 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 6 | $105 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 5 | $95 |
| Argenx US, Inc. | 2 | $67 |
| Eisai Inc. | 3 | $67 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 3 | $58 |
| Novo Nordisk | 3 | $44 |
| GRT US Holding, Inc. | 3 | $42 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| EMD Serono, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 2 | $36 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 2 | $33 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 2 | $32 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 2 | $32 |
| Biogen | 1 | $28 |
| Foundation Medicine, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Averitas Pharma Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $19 |
| Relievant Medsystems, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $18 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $15 |
| Abbott | 1 | $15 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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.
- HA MINUTEMAN G3-R$1,285
- Roxybond$116
How this compares
$4,062 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 596 pain medicine providers in Florida.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OxycontinOxycodone Hcl | 22 | $31,265 |
| Xtampza ErOxycodone Myristate | 20 | $19,721 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 349 | $14,446 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 258 | $11,764 |
| BelbucaBuprenorphine Hcl | 16 | $11,559 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 415 | $9,769 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 12 | $7,074 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 149 | $4,920 |
| Fentanyl | 23 | $3,730 |
| Pregabalin | 42 | $1,169 |
| Gabapentin | 61 | $1,027 |
| Buprenorphine Hcl | 31 | $967 |
| Morphine Sulfate | 29 | $941 |
| Methadone Hcl | 45 | $862 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 40 | $579 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.Xtampza Er, Belbuca | $95 | $31,28036 claims |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USABuprenorphine Hcl, Morphine Sulfate | $36 | $1,90860 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 60th percentile of 596 pain medicine providers in Florida.
Other pain medicine in Melbourne
- Ashish UdeshiMelbourne$103K
- Rohan SarnaMelbourne$29K
- Nicholas GiordanoMelbourne$24K
- Anand PatelOrmond Beach$20.4M
- Julio PaezClermont$2.3M
- Joseph PergolizziNaples$2.1M
- Abel MurilloMiami$1.6M
- George MonluxPalm Coast$1.3M
- Ferdinand FormosoJacksonville$1M
- Cesar LassalleOrlando$1M
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.