Jose Arocha, MD
Internal Medicine · Sparta, NCNPI 1942200282
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 219 payments — averaging $16.79 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- GSK$899
- AstraZeneca$728
- Pfizer$451
- Johnson & Johnson$342
- Lilly USA, LLC$255
- Novartis$167
- plus $835 from 15 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,65699%
- Education$201%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GSK | 41 | $899 |
| AstraZeneca | 38 | $728 |
| Pfizer | 31 | $451 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 27 | $342 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 15 | $255 |
| Novartis | 13 | $167 |
| Novo Nordisk | 15 | $163 |
| Merck | 5 | $139 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 7 | $105 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 7 | $100 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 2 | $62 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 4 | $57 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $40 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 2 | $34 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 2 | $28 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 2 | $27 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $18 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Bayer | 1 | $14 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $11 |
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.
- FARXIGA$130
- SYMBICORT$130
- LOKELMA$130
- TRELEGY ELLIPTA$123
How this compares
$3,676 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 3,302 internal medicine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 227 | $197,180 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 139 | $161,453 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 73 | $64,241 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 51 | $57,057 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 47 | $51,806 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 37 | $48,518 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 42 | $46,941 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 46 | $41,150 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 32 | $35,821 |
| Anoro ElliptaUmeclidinium Brm/Vilanterol Tr | 41 | $19,724 |
| Combivent RespimatIpratropium/Albuterol Sulfate | 25 | $16,800 |
| Stiolto RespimatTiotropium Br/Olodaterol Hcl | 22 | $16,234 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-100Insulin Degludec | 15 | $15,776 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 34 | $15,686 |
| Spiriva RespimatTiotropium Bromide | 21 | $15,049 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Combivent Respimat, Stiolto Respimat, Spiriva Respimat | $100 | $209,536207 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $451 | $197,180227 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta, Breo Ellipta, Incruse Ellipta | $899 | $91,894118 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCTrulicity, Mounjaro | $255 | $84,33969 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Symbicort | $728 | $74,288109 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $163 | $57,05751 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $139 | $46,94142 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $342 | $41,15046 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $11 | $15,68634 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 85th percentile of 3,302 internal medicine providers in North Carolina.
Other internal medicine in Sparta
- Manesh PatelDurham$27.2M
- Saad UsmaniCharlotte$16.2M
- Christina KennellyCharlotte$15.4M
- John RubinoRaleigh$13M
- Adam DevoreDurham$11.8M
- Krishnakumar UdayakumarDurham$11M
- Sylvia ShoffnerCary$7.1M
- Wayne HarperRaleigh$6.7M
- Joseph MoranStatesville$6.7M
- April SalamaDurham$6.5M
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.