Maria Velez, MD
Nephrology · Denver, CONPI 1467765560
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (43.9%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. at 32.9% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $26,665, more than ten times the $125 reported in 2019. Among nephrology clinicians in CO 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 173 payments — averaging $273.48 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.$16K
- Amgen$8K
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$7K
- AstraZeneca$6K
- Eli Lilly$4K
- Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$3K
- plus $4K from 18 others
Across 89 payments — averaging $3633.88 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.
- CSL Behring$201K
- Eli Lilly$99K
- AstraZeneca$24K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$20,78444%
- Speaking & faculty fees$19,12940%
- Travel & lodging$1,8774%
- Food & beverage$5,45112%
- Education$710%
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 Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 14 | $15,549 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 37 | $8,278 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 10 | $6,734 |
| AstraZeneca | 32 | $5,924 |
| Eli Lilly | 5 | $3,898 |
| Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $3,045 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 7 | $1,728 |
| GSK | 10 | $451 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 5 | $316 |
| Novartis | 5 | $207 |
| Bayer | 6 | $198 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 9 | $162 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 2 | $154 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 5 | $136 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 6 | $104 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $90 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 5 | $88 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 3 | $75 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $67 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $31 |
| Outset Medical Inc | 1 | $24 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $23 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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
$47,312 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 152 nephrology providers in Colorado.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 147 | $160,918 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 15 | $60,169 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 45 | $46,554 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 15 | $26,392 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 25 | $19,882 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 16 | $14,331 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 29 | $4,101 |
| Calcium Acetate | 15 | $2,341 |
| Labetalol Hcl | 35 | $734 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 114 | $674 |
| Lisinopril | 79 | $519 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 49 | $490 |
| Torsemide | 21 | $408 |
| Carvedilol | 46 | $364 |
| Losartan Potassium | 43 | $363 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $5,924 | $180,800172 claims |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $104 | $60,16915 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $90 | $46,55445 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $198 | $14,33116 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 152 nephrology providers in Colorado.
Other nephrology in Denver
- Laura KooiengaDenver$82K
- Brad MarderDenver$77K
- Jessica KendrickDenver$20K
- Bijan RoshanDenver$8K
- Michael ShapiroDenver$6K
- James DylewskiDenver$4K
- Rachita PrakashDenver$3K
- Elizabeth KernDenver$2K
- Kajal RaoDenver$1K
- Geoffrey BlockLone Tree$726K
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.