Ramiz Elias, MD
Internal Medicine · San Diego, CANPI 1417164518
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 231 payments — averaging $31.02 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$2K
- GSK$1K
- Novo Nordisk$684
- Lilly USA, LLC$622
- Merck$403
- Amgen$364
- plus $2K from 22 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$7,12399%
- Education$431%
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 | 56 | $1,704 |
| GSK | 27 | $1,490 |
| Novo Nordisk | 21 | $684 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 23 | $622 |
| Merck | 13 | $403 |
| Amgen | 14 | $364 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 23 | $309 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 2 | $215 |
| Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 11 | $198 |
| Abbott | 1 | $163 |
| Mayne Pharma Commercial LLC | 2 | $145 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 6 | $139 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 6 | $136 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $90 |
| AbbVie | 3 | $74 |
| Pfizer | 3 | $72 |
| Bayer | 2 | $50 |
| Exact Sciences | 3 | $45 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 2 | $44 |
| Mannkind Corporation | 1 | $43 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $35 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $28 |
| Novartis | 1 | $23 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Insulet Corporation | 1 | $21 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $20 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $14 |
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
$7,166 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 13,581 internal medicine providers in California.
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 | 135 | $133,091 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 200 | $123,863 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 119 | $84,097 |
| EliquisApixaban | 160 | $83,554 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 141 | $80,059 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 60 | $59,271 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 42 | $51,099 |
| Atrovent HfaIpratropium Bromide | 102 | $46,168 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 67 | $36,339 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 60 | $32,283 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 48 | $30,519 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 42 | $29,716 |
| Metformin Er GastricMetformin Hcl | 25 | $28,787 |
| TradjentaLinagliptin | 29 | $17,925 |
| VivitrolNaltrexone Microspheres | 11 | $16,896 |
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 | $684 | $184,191177 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma, Breztri Aerosphere | $1,704 | $142,472228 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Tradjenta | $90 | $102,021148 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $72 | $83,554160 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $403 | $80,059141 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $622 | $59,27160 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta | $1,490 | $53,922104 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess, Combigan | $74 | $34,76573 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $23 | $29,71642 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $50 | $9,25215 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 90th percentile of 13,581 internal medicine providers in California.
Other internal medicine in San Diego
- Donald BrandonSan Diego$34M
- Elaine WatkinsSan Diego$11.3M
- James ChenSan Diego$2.9M
- Rita StarrittSan Diego$2.6M
- Hatim HusainSan Diego$2.6M
- Gary FiresteinSan Diego$2.6M
- Andrew ChengSouth San Francisco$55.1M
- Joel NeutelTustin$34.9M
- William TownerLos Angeles$27.4M
- Rahul AggarwalSan Francisco$24M
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.