John Tesser, MD
Rheumatology · Phoenix, AZNPI 1427049220
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (58.6%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. It is spread thinly across 46 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.9%. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $307,587 and has fallen 75.7% since, to $74,720 in 2025. Among rheumatology clinicians in AZ 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 2,253 payments — averaging $443.32 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$179K
- Lilly USA, LLC$178K
- Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC$109K
- Johnson & Johnson$94K
- Sanofi$62K
- GSK$61K
- plus $317K from 40 others
Across 949 payments — averaging $4032.79 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.
- Amgen$1.5M
- Eli Lilly$479K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$360K
- GSK$342K
- AbbVie$333K
- AstraZeneca$269K
- plus $581K from 15 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$276,93228%
- Speaking & faculty fees$585,59659%
- Travel & lodging$95,24010%
- Food & beverage$40,6804%
- Education$3410%
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.
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
$998,789 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 102 rheumatology providers in Arizona.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 58 | $545,326 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 38 | $407,472 |
| RinvoqUpadacitinib | 25 | $309,999 |
| Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab | 18 | $164,850 |
| Humira(Cf)Adalimumab | 16 | $147,157 |
| EnbrelEtanercept | 15 | $109,332 |
| OrenciaAbatacept/Maltose | 18 | $76,721 |
| TymlosAbaloparatide | 26 | $75,055 |
| KevzaraSarilumab | 14 | $68,507 |
| SimponiGolimumab | 11 | $65,251 |
| RasuvoMethotrexate/Pf | 23 | $17,417 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 196 | $9,726 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 334 | $8,219 |
| Leflunomide | 88 | $5,072 |
| Colchicine | 60 | $3,394 |
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, Humira(Cf) | $179,101 | $457,15641 claims |
| AmgenEnbrel | $31,920 | $109,33215 claims |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.Orencia | $29,774 | $76,72118 claims |
| Radius Health, Inc.Tymlos | $362 | $75,05526 claims |
| SanofiKevzara | $61,860 | $68,50714 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonSimponi | $93,552 | $65,25111 claims |
| Medexus Pharma, Inc.Rasuvo | $500 | $17,41723 claims |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.Colchicine | $18 | $3,39460 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 102 rheumatology providers in Arizona.
Other rheumatology in Phoenix
- Nehad SolomanPhoenix$1.3M
- Paul CaldronPhoenix$36K
- Saima ChohanPhoenix$22K
- Nikila KumarPhoenix$20K
- Matthew HerrmannPhoenix$11K
- Trent SmithPhoenix$9K
- Swati BharadwajPhoenix$9K
- Alan MallacePhoenix$4K
- Kristen YoungPhoenix$3K
- Joy SchechtmanPeoria$860K
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.