Khoa Cao, MD
Adult Medicine · Houston, TXNPI 1982702031
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 91.4% of the total across 109 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 14 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 21.5% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $688 and has fallen 74.9% since, to $172 in 2025.
Across 109 payments — averaging $22.01 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$517
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$461
- Bayer$277
- GSK$247
- Lilly USA, LLC$216
- Abbott$210
- plus $470 from 8 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,19291%
- Education$2079%
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 | 6 | $517 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 73 | $461 |
| Bayer | 5 | $277 |
| GSK | 2 | $247 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 9 | $216 |
| Abbott | 4 | $210 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 2 | $172 |
| Biotronik NRO, Inc. | 1 | $147 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | 2 | $61 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $28 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $25 |
| Amgen | 1 | $19 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Althera Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $5 |
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
$2,399 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 98 adult medicine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 130 | $173,094 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 73 | $83,443 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 114 | $72,935 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 60 | $39,593 |
| TradjentaLinagliptin | 26 | $29,116 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 21 | $24,811 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 25 | $20,986 |
| EliquisApixaban | 13 | $17,102 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 17 | $16,835 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 11 | $10,406 |
| Colchicine | 47 | $4,618 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 711 | $4,137 |
| Clobetasol Propionate | 93 | $3,004 |
| Fluticasone-SalmeterolFluticasone Propion/Salmeterol | 29 | $2,910 |
| Icosapent Ethyl | 17 | $2,669 |
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, Tradjenta | $25 | $202,211156 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $247 | $39,59360 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCTrulicity | $216 | $24,81121 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $517 | $20,98625 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $28 | $17,10213 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $277 | $16,83517 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 75th percentile of 98 adult medicine providers in Texas.
Other adult medicine in Houston
- Latisha RoweHouston$11K
- Woon SimHouston$5K
- Marjon MonfaredHouston$2K
- Afaf ShahHouston$2K
- Elise CookHouston$890
- Michael BuxbaumHouston$378
- Maria Isabel ZapataHouston$317
- Deborah HornBellaire$723K
- Thomas MartensPflugerville$87K
- Sakuntalai SrinanthakumarBeaumont$48K
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.