Luis Velez, MD
Nephrology · San Antonio, TXNPI 1053328336
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $308,038 of the $505,050 with a category attached, or 61.0%. Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. accounts for 65.6% of it on its own, with 32 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $178,508, 8.1 times the $22,050 reported in 2019. Among nephrology 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 930 payments — averaging $543.06 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$331K
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$160K
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.$8K
- Amgen$1K
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$639
- AstraZeneca$555
- plus $4K from 27 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$94,67919%
- Speaking & faculty fees$308,03861%
- Travel & lodging$83,15816%
- Food & beverage$19,0964%
- Education$790%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 464 | $331,297 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 260 | $159,641 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 5 | $8,292 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 40 | $1,031 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 20 | $639 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 18 | $555 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 15 | $510 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 23 | $487 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 11 | $318 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 8 | $270 |
| Bayer | 6 | $250 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 10 | $224 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 7 | $216 |
| Novo Nordisk | 3 | $164 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 2 | $132 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $128 |
| Novartis | 4 | $121 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 2 | $115 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 4 | $94 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 4 | $82 |
| GSK | 4 | $74 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 2 | $69 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $68 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $62 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 3 | $46 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $35 |
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company | 1 | $22 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 1 | $17 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $16 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 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
$505,050 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| FilspariSparsentan | 22 | $256,094 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 118 | $113,540 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 44 | $52,193 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 11 | $39,781 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 20 | $31,969 |
| RetacritEpoetin Alfa-Epbx | 72 | $17,730 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 66 | $9,641 |
| ProcritEpoetin Alfa | 13 | $9,472 |
| Bumetanide | 95 | $4,708 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 124 | $3,994 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 16 | $3,861 |
| Calcium Acetate | 30 | $3,151 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 19 | $2,709 |
| Olmesartan Medoxomil | 136 | $1,841 |
| Allopurinol | 116 | $745 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc.Filspari | $159,641 | $256,09422 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $555 | $165,732162 claims |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $82 | $39,78111 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonProcrit | $35 | $9,47213 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 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
Other nephrology in San Antonio
- Rashid SharafSan Antonio$340K
- Carl DukesSan Antonio$238K
- Pablo PergolaSan Antonio$164K
- Varshasb BroumandSan Antonio$118K
- Shweta BansalSan Antonio$89K
- Rajeev NarayanSan Antonio$57K
- Anwar GergesSan Antonio$50K
- Matthew SchaeferSan Antonio$46K
- Kumar SharmaSan Antonio$45K
- Gerardo ChicaSan Antonio$39K
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.