Justin Merszei, MD
Nephrology · Houston, TXNPI 1649252529
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $8,529 of the $10,022 with a category attached, or 85.1%. 26 manufacturers reported payments, led by AstraZeneca at 24.5% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $2,591, 5.8 times the $449 reported in 2019.
Across 451 payments — averaging $22.22 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$2K
- Amgen$1K
- Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.$1K
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$768
- Inari Medical, Inc.$579
- Diality Inc.$496
- plus $3K from 20 others
Across 153 payments — averaging $2701.66 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.
- Eli Lilly$232K
- Quanta Dialysis Technologies Inc$150K
- CSL Behring$22K
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$10K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,18012%
- Food & beverage$8,52985%
- Education$3143%
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 | 30 | $2,451 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 87 | $1,197 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 44 | $1,065 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 82 | $768 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 7 | $579 |
| Diality Inc. | 2 | $496 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 48 | $482 |
| Bayer | 42 | $469 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 21 | $447 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 23 | $360 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 5 | $274 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 8 | $246 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $243 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 13 | $217 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 10 | $178 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 5 | $94 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $89 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 4 | $71 |
| Novo Nordisk | 3 | $63 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 3 | $47 |
| Novartis | 2 | $46 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $29 |
| Abiomed | 1 | $28 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $20 |
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.
- LOKELMA$1,351
- FARXIGA$769
- ACTHAR$651
- FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER, S$394
- CT THROMBECTOMY SYSTEM KIT$179
- Filspari$134
- KRYSTEXXA$125
- TARPEYO$125
- Vafseo$114
How this compares
$10,022 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 1,070 nephrology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 99 | $374,816 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 258 | $208,495 |
| XphozahTenapanor Hcl | 66 | $207,125 |
| RayaldeeCalcifediol | 141 | $172,038 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 44 | $94,216 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 108 | $93,878 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 52 | $70,250 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 59 | $56,261 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 48 | $53,538 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 48 | $28,749 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 36 | $22,799 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 107 | $22,293 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 25 | $8,129 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 11 | $5,462 |
| Lanthanum Carbonate | 13 | $4,994 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $2,451 | $264,757317 claims |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLCRayaldee | $768 | $172,038141 claims |
| Akebia Therapeutics IncAuryxia | $447 | $94,21644 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $469 | $93,878108 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $63 | $53,53848 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $29 | $28,74948 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $360 | $22,79936 claims |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Valsartan | $178 | $35829 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 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
Other nephrology in Houston
- Sreedhar MandayamHouston$752K
- Christopher KwohHouston$467K
- Wolfgang WinkelmayerHouston$462K
- Namrata GoelHouston$426K
- Dana MitchellHouston$344K
- Ramachandra MalyaHouston$312K
- John ForingerHouston$215K
- Biruh WorkenehHouston$185K
- Horacio AdrogueHouston$122K
- Anand SaranathanHouston$109K
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.