Mario Rodriguez Rivera, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Greenwood, SCNPI 1013461615
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 101 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 23 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 13.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $1,139 and has fallen 52.5% since, to $541 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $13,902.
Across 101 payments — averaging $23.26 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$305
- Abbott$283
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$282
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$233
- Novartis$200
- Pfizer$193
- plus $853 from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,349100%
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 | 17 | $305 |
| Abbott | 5 | $283 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 13 | $282 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 7 | $233 |
| Novartis | 12 | $200 |
| Pfizer | 10 | $193 |
| AstraZeneca | 3 | $151 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $83 |
| Amgen | 4 | $72 |
| Novo Nordisk | 3 | $71 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $67 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $66 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 4 | $61 |
| Abiomed | 2 | $53 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $43 |
| Bayer | 2 | $31 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $27 |
| Recor Medical Inc | 1 | $25 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Stryker | 1 | $23 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $19 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| GSK | 1 | $18 |
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.
- CARDIOMEMS$133
How this compares
$2,349 in reported general payments places this provider in the 10th percentile of 30 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in South Carolina.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in South Carolina →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndaqelTafamidis Meglumine | 51 | $1,459,168 |
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 50 | $1,235,804 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 330 | $271,081 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 345 | $265,019 |
| CamzyosMavacamten | 19 | $139,587 |
| EliquisApixaban | 146 | $110,414 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 37 | $39,250 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 63 | $35,590 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 32 | $34,564 |
| VerquvoVericiguat | 44 | $33,137 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 13 | $11,176 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 14 | $8,196 |
| Bumetanide | 115 | $4,944 |
| Torsemide | 210 | $4,915 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 123 | $4,163 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerVyndaqel, Vyndamax, Eliquis | $193 | $2,805,386247 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $200 | $271,081330 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $83 | $265,019345 claims |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.Camzyos | $233 | $139,58719 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $71 | $39,25037 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $151 | $35,59063 claims |
| MerckVerquvo | $305 | $33,13744 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $18 | $8,19614 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 10th percentile of 30 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in South Carolina.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Greenwood
- Patrick McCannColumbia$579K
- Ryan TedfordCharleston$528K
- Michael ZileCharleston$358K
- Anil PurohitWest Columbia$172K
- James AmpaduColumbia$131K
- Daniel JudgeCharleston$116K
- Ramsey WehbeCharleston$108K
- Sheldon LitwinCharleston$86K
- Brian HoustonCharleston$43K
- Jason GuichardGreenville$25K
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.