Melchor Cardenas, MD
Family Medicine · Laredo, TXNPI 1366423725
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 157 payments — averaging $28.20 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$924
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$526
- Novo Nordisk$390
- GSK$326
- AbbVie$320
- Bayer$310
- plus $2K from 18 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,30297%
- Education$1263%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 17 | $924 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 30 | $526 |
| Novo Nordisk | 18 | $390 |
| GSK | 10 | $326 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 10 | $320 |
| Bayer | 6 | $310 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 15 | $222 |
| Amgen | 8 | $214 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 8 | $138 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 2 | $130 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 3 | $126 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 8 | $124 |
| Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $120 |
| Melinta Therapeutics, LLC | 1 | $114 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $100 |
| Merck | 7 | $87 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $75 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 3 | $54 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $20 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 1 | $14 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 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
$4,427 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 8,760 family medicine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 163 | $176,508 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 111 | $148,361 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 104 | $135,402 |
| RexultiBrexpiprazole | 84 | $129,007 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 88 | $126,131 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 47 | $93,839 |
| EliquisApixaban | 101 | $88,186 |
| TradjentaLinagliptin | 52 | $57,623 |
| JanumetSitagliptin Phos/Metformin Hcl | 43 | $50,330 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 59 | $48,747 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 31 | $36,768 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 23 | $31,625 |
| FanaptIloperidone | 64 | $31,035 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 38 | $29,606 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-100Insulin Degludec | 44 | $22,932 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus | $390 | $270,346210 claims |
| MerckJanuvia, Janumet, Belsomra | $87 | $212,686187 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $924 | $135,402104 claims |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.Rexulti | $39 | $129,00784 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro, Trulicity | $222 | $68,39354 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $100 | $48,74759 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $320 | $29,60638 claims |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCXifaxan | $14 | $21,44521 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $326 | $20,07326 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 80th percentile of 8,760 family medicine providers in Texas.
Other family medicine in Laredo
- Douglas DenhamSan Antonio$68.5M
- Vicki MillerPasadena$58.3M
- Hareshkumar BogharaDesoto$30.3M
- Earl MartinTomball$30.1M
- Lisa HollowayHouston$30.1M
- William SegerFort Worth$27.5M
- Veronica FragosoHouston$24.5M
- Joel SolisMcAllen$21.1M
- George AtieeSan Antonio$19.9M
- Bonnie ColvilleHouston$19.6M
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.