Linda Mercado
Physician Assistant · Hidalgo, TXNPI 1033739883
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (47.3%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Gilead accounts for 65.9% of it on its own, with 11 other manufacturers making up the rest. Among physician assistant clinicians in TX 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 340 payments — averaging $108.42 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Gilead$24K
- Viiv Healthcare Company$11K
- Johnson & Johnson$512
- Theratechnologies Inc.$392
- Janssen Products, LP$299
- Merck$157
- plus $384 from 6 others
Across 18 payments — averaging $2349.78 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.
- Viiv Healthcare Company$25K
- Gilead$18K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$3,92011%
- Speaking & faculty fees$17,42847%
- Travel & lodging$7,80021%
- Food & beverage$7,35820%
- Education$3561%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gilead | 70 | $24,286 |
| Viiv Healthcare Company | 199 | $10,831 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 32 | $512 |
| Theratechnologies Inc. | 12 | $392 |
| Janssen Products, LP | 3 | $299 |
| Merck | 9 | $157 |
| EMD Serono, Inc. | 7 | $137 |
| Sage Therapeutics, LLC | 1 | $100 |
| Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc | 4 | $71 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 1 | $51 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $13 |
| Amgen | 1 | $12 |
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
$36,862 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 8,308 physician assistant providers in Texas.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| BiktarvyBictegrav/Emtricit/Tenofov Ala | 146 | $561,036 |
| RukobiaFostemsavir Tromethamine | 36 | $310,133 |
| SymtuzaDarunavir/Cob/Emtri/Tenof Alaf | 65 | $301,199 |
| JulucaDolutegravir/Rilpivirine | 76 | $261,793 |
| DovatoDolutegravir Sodium/Lamivudine | 85 | $235,818 |
| Egrifta SvTesamorelin Acetate | 28 | $197,777 |
| CabenuvaCabotegravir/Rilpivirine | 27 | $169,305 |
| TivicayDolutegravir Sodium | 53 | $113,273 |
| PrezcobixDarunavir/Cobicistat | 24 | $56,227 |
| TriumeqAbacavir/Dolutegravir/Lamivudi | 13 | $48,836 |
| DescovyEmtricitabine/Tenofov Alafenam | 16 | $32,006 |
| ValacyclovirValacyclovir Hcl | 33 | $1,436 |
| Ciclopirox | 16 | $709 |
| Fluconazole | 13 | $336 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 14 | $103 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Viiv Healthcare CompanyRukobia, Juluca, Dovato, Cabenuva, Tivicay | $10,831 | $1,139,156290 claims |
| GileadBiktarvy, Descovy | $24,286 | $593,041162 claims |
| Janssen Products, LPSymtuza | $299 | $301,19965 claims |
| Theratechnologies Inc.Egrifta Sv | $392 | $197,77728 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonPrezcobix | $512 | $56,22724 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 8,308 physician assistant providers in Texas.
Other physician assistant in Hidalgo
- Cynthia TrickettDallas$1.3M
- Kristine KuceraMelissa$797K
- Selina SantosAustin$543K
- Matthew BrunoMcKinney$538K
- Brooke HodnickSouthlake$479K
- Holly GloverArlington$418K
- Kirk GautierAthens$416K
- Jaime RomanPlano$338K
- Michael WhiteDallas$276K
- Heidi JeffreysLubbock$259K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.