Melinda Hockensmith, MD
Nephrology · Colorado Springs, CONPI 1851376842
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.2% of the total across 205 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 30 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 205 payments — averaging $21.62 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Amgen$718
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$537
- Bayer$235
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$226
- Novo Nordisk$222
- plus $1K from 24 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,35298%
- Education$812%
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) | 46 | $1,019 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 31 | $718 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 23 | $537 |
| Bayer | 13 | $235 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 14 | $226 |
| Novo Nordisk | 8 | $222 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 8 | $175 |
| Novartis | 8 | $169 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 6 | $135 |
| GSK | 6 | $121 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 5 | $92 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 5 | $84 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 3 | $70 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $69 |
| Sanofi | 3 | $66 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 3 | $65 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $64 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 2 | $56 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $45 |
| Nxstage Medical, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $23 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $18 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $17 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Ascendis Pharma Endocrinology Inc | 1 | $15 |
How this compares
$4,433 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 37 | $64,443 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 32 | $24,434 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 13 | $17,910 |
| Everolimus | 23 | $13,919 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 43 | $11,639 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 31 | $10,387 |
| Calcitriol | 190 | $3,828 |
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 16 | $2,336 |
| Telmisartan | 95 | $2,144 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 75 | $1,245 |
| Losartan Potassium | 106 | $1,171 |
| Lisinopril | 152 | $1,132 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 124 | $1,042 |
| Calcium Acetate | 16 | $927 |
| Carvedilol | 74 | $776 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $69 | $64,44337 claims |
| AstraZenecaLokelma, Farxiga | $1,019 | $42,34445 claims |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Valsartan | $40 | $73516 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 152 nephrology providers in Colorado.
Other nephrology in Colorado Springs
- Jesse FlaxenburgColorado Springs$6K
- Mark AlbrightColorado Springs$5K
- Michael RossColorado Springs$4K
- Roger MalloryColorado Springs$4K
- Derian LaiColorado Springs$4K
- Geoffrey BlockLone Tree$726K
- Laura KooiengaDenver$82K
- Brad MarderDenver$77K
- Richard JohnsonAurora$62K
- Maria VelezDenver$47K
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.