Maria Ramos Cortes
Cardiovascular Disease · San Juan, PRNPI 1104882224
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $6,085 of the $7,590 with a category attached, or 80.2%. It is spread thinly across 15 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 22.2% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $2,334 and has fallen 85.8% since, to $331 in 2025.
Across 101 payments — averaging $75.14 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$2K
- Johnson & Johnson$999
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$923
- Boehringer Ingelheim$884
- Amgen$828
- AstraZeneca$495
- plus $2K from 9 others
Across 3 payments — averaging $1556.00 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.
- Genentech, Inc.$5K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,50020%
- Food & beverage$6,08580%
- Education$50%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 5 | $1,687 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 16 | $999 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 16 | $923 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 13 | $884 |
| Amgen | 8 | $828 |
| AstraZeneca | 12 | $495 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 11 | $483 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 3 | $363 |
| Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC | 6 | $363 |
| Boston Scientific | 4 | $333 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $91 |
| PBG Puerto Rico LLC | 3 | $64 |
| Abbott | 1 | $28 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $28 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 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.
- JARDIANCE$718
- Repatha$594
- ELIQUIS$559
- XARELTO$535
- FARXIGA$356
- LifeVest$213
- Amplia MRI$148
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$131
- WATCHMAN Access System$130
- CoreValve Evolut$118
- STEGLATRO$100
How this compares
$7,590 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 267 cardiovascular disease providers in Puerto Rico.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 85 | $70,639 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 59 | $64,720 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 36 | $27,281 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 22 | $20,669 |
| Candesartan Cilexetil | 140 | $18,915 |
| Candesartan-HydrochlorothiazidCandesartan/Hydrochlorothiazid | 62 | $11,912 |
| Omega-3 Acid Ethyl Esters | 81 | $10,208 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 387 | $8,360 |
| SynthroidLevothyroxine Sodium | 63 | $8,051 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 443 | $6,344 |
| Losartan Potassium | 426 | $6,279 |
| Irbesartan-HydrochlorothiazideIrbesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide | 146 | $6,276 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 300 | $5,358 |
| Irbesartan | 133 | $4,628 |
| Losartan-HydrochlorothiazideLosartan/Hydrochlorothiazide | 146 | $3,337 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $28 | $70,63985 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $999 | $64,72059 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $495 | $27,28136 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 267 cardiovascular disease providers in Puerto Rico.
Other cardiovascular disease in San Juan
- Manuel GuzmanSan Juan$203K
- Ramon PereaSan Juan$68K
- Francisco Merced-OrtizSan Juan$54K
- Sonia VicentySan Juan$23K
- Sonia Velazquez-NavarroSan Juan$17K
- Pedro Vargas-OteroSan Juan$15K
- Ricardo ColacioppoSan Juan$14K
- Jose Kareh CorderoSan Juan$13K
- William Borges CancelSan Juan$13K
- Zuanette Ramos-RoblesSan Juan$13K
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.