Melvin Romero, MD
Family Medicine · Albuquerque, NMNPI 1164405064
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.3% of the total across 223 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 33 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 12.4% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $945 and has fallen 94.9% since, to $49 in 2025. Among family medicine clinicians in NM 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 223 payments — averaging $17.15 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$474
- Lilly USA, LLC$395
- Pfizer$371
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$371
- AbbVie$335
- Boehringer Ingelheim$221
- plus $2K from 27 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,79799%
- Education$90%
- Gifts$180%
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 | 28 | $474 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 25 | $395 |
| Pfizer | 23 | $371 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 22 | $371 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 23 | $335 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 11 | $221 |
| Indivior Inc. | 9 | $131 |
| Novo Nordisk | 7 | $119 |
| Amgen | 7 | $113 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 6 | $110 |
| Exact Sciences | 5 | $103 |
| GSK | 7 | $102 |
| Novartis | 6 | $89 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $78 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 4 | $78 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $77 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 3 | $66 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | 3 | $54 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $51 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $51 |
| Gilead | 2 | $48 |
| Alkermes, Inc. | 2 | $42 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 2 | $36 |
| Bayer | 2 | $36 |
| Roche Diagnostics Corporation | 1 | $33 |
| Merck | 2 | $32 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 2 | $31 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Braeburn Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $20 |
How this compares
$3,825 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 717 family medicine providers in New Mexico.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 25 | $16,499 |
| EliquisApixaban | 13 | $15,189 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 15 | $13,461 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 13 | $10,270 |
| SymbicortBudesonide/Formoterol Fumarate | 15 | $3,535 |
| Fluticasone-SalmeterolFluticasone Propion/Salmeterol | 11 | $2,989 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 213 | $2,473 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 61 | $1,904 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 126 | $1,626 |
| Losartan Potassium | 139 | $1,610 |
| Buprenorphine-NaloxoneBuprenorphine Hcl/Naloxone Hcl | 25 | $1,510 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 120 | $1,406 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 64 | $1,112 |
| Gabapentin | 59 | $1,110 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 81 | $1,073 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MerckJanuvia | $32 | $16,49925 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $371 | $15,18913 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Symbicort | $474 | $13,80428 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $335 | $13,46115 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 717 family medicine providers in New Mexico.
Other family medicine in Albuquerque
- Carletta BullockAlbuquerque$60K
- Robert BairAlbuquerque$44K
- Timothy GrenemyerAlbuquerque$10K
- Cheri BlackstenAlbuquerque$9K
- Michael MontoyaAlbuquerque$7K
- Yvonne Vanarsdale-ImaniAlbuquerque$7K
- Donald OrtizAlbuquerque$7K
- Satkirin KhalsaAlbuquerque$6K
- Angela RomeroAlbuquerque$5K
- H Preston MatthewsAlbuquerque$5K
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.