Sarah Waldman, MD
Infectious Disease · Sacramento, CANPI 1376832550
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (49.6%), travel and lodging and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Merck accounts for 71.0% of it on its own, with 4 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $1,016 and has fallen 91.9% since, to $83 in 2024.
Across 23 payments — averaging $57.90 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$945
- Viiv Healthcare Company$310
- Johnson & Johnson$28
- Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC$25
- Gilead$23
Across 119 payments — averaging $7835.63 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- Merck$558K
- Gilead$375K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$64348%
- Food & beverage$66150%
- Education$282%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 9 | $945 |
| Viiv Healthcare Company | 11 | $310 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $28 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 1 | $25 |
| Gilead | 1 | $23 |
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.
- MK-8591A$608
How this compares
$1,332 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 856 infectious disease 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BiktarvyBictegrav/Emtricit/Tenofov Ala | 120 | $432,825 |
| TriumeqAbacavir/Dolutegravir/Lamivudi | 74 | $297,246 |
| DescovyEmtricitabine/Tenofov Alafenam | 82 | $186,688 |
| TivicayDolutegravir Sodium | 91 | $179,644 |
| JulucaDolutegravir/Rilpivirine | 34 | $121,907 |
| OdefseyEmtricitab/Rilpiviri/Tenof Ala | 30 | $113,751 |
| SymtuzaDarunavir/Cob/Emtri/Tenof Alaf | 18 | $101,420 |
| GenvoyaElviteg/Cob/Emtri/Tenof Alafen | 21 | $98,108 |
| DovatoDolutegravir Sodium/Lamivudine | 16 | $41,966 |
| PrezcobixDarunavir/Cobicistat | 15 | $38,330 |
| IsentressRaltegravir Potassium | 16 | $28,890 |
| Isentress HdRaltegravir Potassium | 14 | $26,008 |
| PrezistaDarunavir | 12 | $17,220 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 11 | $15,056 |
| Etravirine | 13 | $11,313 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GileadBiktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya | $23 | $717,620223 claims |
| Viiv Healthcare CompanyTriumeq, Tivicay, Juluca, Dovato | $310 | $640,762215 claims |
| MerckIsentress, Isentress Hd | $945 | $54,89830 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonPrezcobix | $28 | $38,33015 claims |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLCPrezista | $25 | $17,22012 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 70th percentile of 856 infectious disease providers in California.
Other infectious disease in Sacramento
- Claire PomeroySacramento$2.6M
- David AsmuthSacramento$316K
- George ThompsonSacramento$145K
- Karishma ChawlaSacramento$107K
- Javeed SiddiquiRoseville$1.5M
- George SakoulasSan Diego$902K
- Arthur JengSylmar$766K
- James McKinnellTorrance$762K
- Jay GladsteinLos Angeles$657K
- Tulika SinghOrange$654K
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.