Merlie Mercado-Quinones
Adult Health · Surprise, AZNPI 1346679701
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 219 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 38 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 12.4% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $2,322 and has fallen 93.0% since, to $162 in 2025.
Across 219 payments — averaging $16.19 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$441
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$413
- Lilly USA, LLC$399
- AbbVie$309
- Boehringer Ingelheim$272
- AstraZeneca$258
- plus $1K from 32 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,545100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 31 | $441 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 38 | $413 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 24 | $399 |
| AbbVie | 18 | $309 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 16 | $272 |
| AstraZeneca | 15 | $258 |
| Pfizer | 9 | $159 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $148 |
| Mannkind Corporation | 5 | $100 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 6 | $99 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 6 | $88 |
| GSK | 5 | $81 |
| Novartis | 3 | $75 |
| Amgen | 4 | $75 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $62 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Eisai Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC | 2 | $33 |
| Exact Sciences | 2 | $33 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 2 | $31 |
| Upsher-smith Laboratories LLC | 2 | $31 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $28 |
| Nabriva Therapeutics, PLC | 2 | $27 |
| Virtus Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $25 |
| Bayer | 2 | $24 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 1 | $24 |
| Gilead | 1 | $24 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $22 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 1 | $17 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Merck | 1 | $15 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. | 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.
- SYMPLICITY G3$148
How this compares
$3,545 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 314 adult health providers in Arizona.
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 | 11 | $20,416 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 15 | $19,164 |
| EliquisApixaban | 22 | $17,794 |
| Gabapentin | 91 | $1,535 |
| Lantus SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 13 | $1,400 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 37 | $1,306 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 104 | $1,179 |
| Methenamine Hippurate | 16 | $1,032 |
| Losartan Potassium | 63 | $854 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 85 | $844 |
| Omeprazole | 36 | $654 |
| Sucralfate | 11 | $630 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 19 | $471 |
| Lisinopril | 74 | $466 |
| Trazodone Hcl | 45 | $445 |
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 | $272 | $20,41611 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $441 | $19,16415 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $159 | $17,79422 claims |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLCLevothyroxine Sodium | $33 | $1,179104 claims |
| Almatica Pharma LLCSertraline Hcl | $17 | $31526 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 85th percentile of 314 adult health providers in Arizona.
Other adult health in Surprise
- Christopher SzokeSurprise$3K
- Therese SargentPhoenix$307K
- Heather McCoyScottsdale$156K
- Jennifer MylodGlendale$131K
- Natalie WilsonPhoenix$94K
- Amy KleinhansMesa$60K
- Michelle TaylorGilbert$36K
- Sherry DentonScottsdale$23K
- Kristin StaniszewskiPhoenix$15K
- Stacey GourdouxPhoenix$15K
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.