Jose Melendez
Pulmonary Disease · Houston, TXNPI 1134305253
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 752 payments — averaging $518.05 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$176K
- Verona Pharma, Inc.$78K
- Genentech, Inc.$55K
- Chiesi USA, Inc.$37K
- Pfizer$25K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$6K
- plus $12K from 24 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$4,82024%
- Travel & lodging$1,5618%
- Food & beverage$13,87468%
- Education$1631%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca | 93 | $176,474 |
| Verona Pharma, Inc. | 16 | $78,329 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 16 | $54,819 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 6 | $36,576 |
| Pfizer | 7 | $24,954 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 63 | $5,919 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 46 | $3,006 |
| Philips North America LLC | 107 | $1,657 |
| GSK | 112 | $1,637 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 60 | $1,137 |
| Sanofi | 48 | $1,030 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 40 | $944 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 32 | $750 |
| Shionogi Inc | 26 | $528 |
| Insmed, Inc. | 19 | $379 |
| Amgen | 11 | $253 |
| Pulmonx Corporation | 5 | $225 |
| Viatris Specialty LLC | 8 | $206 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 10 | $175 |
| Merck | 5 | $107 |
| Harmony Biosciences LLC | 4 | $105 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 5 | $91 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 3 | $53 |
| Eisai Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Vapotherm Inc | 2 | $35 |
| Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $34 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $31 |
| Circassia Inc. | 2 | $30 |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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
$389,572 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 904 pulmonary disease providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OfevNintedanib Esylate | 133 | $1,762,162 |
| Dupixent PenDupilumab | 98 | $382,797 |
| UptraviSelexipag | 14 | $334,496 |
| OpsumitMacitentan | 23 | $290,302 |
| NucalaMepolizumab | 51 | $179,337 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 178 | $137,181 |
| TezspireTezepelumab-Ekko | 23 | $108,103 |
| Breztri AerosphereBudesonide/Glycopyr/Formoterol | 129 | $88,664 |
| Spiriva RespimatTiotropium Bromide | 44 | $34,091 |
| Anoro ElliptaUmeclidinium Brm/Vilanterol Tr | 36 | $21,738 |
| Stiolto RespimatTiotropium Br/Olodaterol Hcl | 24 | $14,426 |
| Breo ElliptaFluticasone/Vilanterol | 25 | $10,535 |
| SymbicortBudesonide/Formoterol Fumarate | 38 | $9,623 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 208 | $6,729 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 223 | $2,826 |
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 IngelheimOfev, Spiriva Respimat, Stiolto Respimat | $5,919 | $1,810,679201 claims |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.Uptravi, Opsumit | $1,137 | $624,79837 claims |
| GSKNucala, Trelegy Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta, Breo Ellipta | $1,637 | $348,791290 claims |
| AstraZenecaTezspire, Breztri Aerosphere, Symbicort | $176,474 | $206,390190 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 904 pulmonary disease providers in Texas.
Other pulmonary disease in Houston
- Ivan RosasHouston$13.8M
- Nicola HananiaHouston$2.2M
- Sandeep SahayHouston$2.1M
- Zeenat SafdarHouston$1.7M
- Howard HuangHouston$1.3M
- Dileep PuppalaHouston$1.1M
- Sandeep GuptaHouston$1.1M
- Joseph VaronHouston$1.1M
- Bela PatelHouston$974K
- Roberto CasalHouston$865K
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.