Kevin Merkes, MD
Internal Medicine · Poway, CANPI 1760578744
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $11,067 of the $12,554 with a category attached, or 88.2%. It is spread thinly across 51 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 15.9% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $3,737 and has fallen 68.9% since, to $1,161 in 2025. Among internal medicine clinicians in CA 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 564 payments — averaging $22.26 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd.$2K
- AbbVie$2K
- GSK$1K
- AstraZeneca$954
- Lilly USA, LLC$771
- Novo Nordisk$603
- plus $5K from 45 others
Across 361 payments — averaging $7540.85 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.
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$668K
- AbbVie$585K
- Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$273K
- Genentech, Inc.$260K
- Shire North American Group Inc$208K
- Regeneron$139K
- plus $589K from 10 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,20010%
- Travel & lodging$2812%
- Food & beverage$11,06788%
- Education$60%
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.
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.
- NURTEC ODT$1,766
How this compares
$12,554 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 13,581 internal medicine providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 68 | $120,282 |
| EliquisApixaban | 88 | $109,422 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 45 | $70,970 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 45 | $64,980 |
| Soliqua 100-33Insulin Glargine/Lixisenatide | 31 | $51,073 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 47 | $41,172 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 16 | $24,844 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-200Insulin Degludec | 12 | $9,817 |
| Toujeo Max SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 12 | $7,633 |
| Lantus SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 25 | $5,331 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 357 | $4,038 |
| SynthroidLevothyroxine Sodium | 39 | $3,538 |
| Testosterone | 20 | $3,461 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 289 | $3,374 |
| Humalog Kwikpen U-100Insulin Lispro | 13 | $3,027 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $603 | $120,28268 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $467 | $109,42288 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $771 | $70,97045 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $72 | $64,98045 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCSoliqua 100-33 | $314 | $51,07331 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $1,249 | $41,17247 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $32 | $24,84416 claims |
| AbbVieSynthroid | $1,884 | $3,53839 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 13,581 internal medicine providers in California.
Other internal medicine in Poway
- Andrew ChengSouth San Francisco$55.1M
- Tung NgoNewport Beach$4.9M
- Christian EversullStanford$2.9M
- Christian SandrockSacramento$2.1M
- Hatim HusainSan Diego$2M
- Teck LingPalo Alto$1.1M
- Hyong Kimla Jolla$1M
- Rohit Loombala Jolla$965K
- Fred CohenSan Francisco$929K
- Steven EdelmanSan Diego$863K
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.