Shervin Assassi, MD
Rheumatology · Houston, TXNPI 1043259567
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (59.9%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 15 manufacturers reported payments, led by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH at 57.9% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $94,542, 4.7 times the $20,277 reported in 2019. Among rheumatology clinicians in TX 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 299 payments — averaging $1099.89 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$190K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$92K
- Merck$17K
- Boehringer Ingelheim Do Brasil Quimica E Farmaceutical Ltda.$15K
- AbbVie$6K
- CSL Behring$4K
- plus $6K from 9 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $49,281 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.
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$240K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$99K
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$4K
- AbbVie$2K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$196,97560%
- Speaking & faculty fees$66,02720%
- Travel & lodging$60,91219%
- Food & beverage$4,8531%
- Education$1000%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH | 150 | $190,303 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 75 | $91,674 |
| Merck | 25 | $16,515 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim Do Brasil Quimica E Farmaceutical Ltda. | 11 | $14,770 |
| AbbVie | 14 | $6,299 |
| CSL Behring | 2 | $3,545 |
| Astrazeneca UK Limited | 2 | $2,148 |
| AstraZeneca | 7 | $1,634 |
| Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. | 1 | $840 |
| Regeneron | 1 | $729 |
| UCB, Inc. | 2 | $188 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 6 | $173 |
| Novartis | 1 | $25 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $12 |
| Pfizer | 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.
How this compares
$328,867 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 512 rheumatology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| XeljanzTofacitinib Citrate | 25 | $154,635 |
| Cosentyx Sensoready (2 Pens)Secukinumab | 12 | $87,006 |
| Mycophenolic AcidMycophenolate Sodium | 16 | $8,480 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 32 | $4,517 |
| Sildenafil Citrate | 16 | $4,023 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 28 | $2,109 |
| Leflunomide | 22 | $1,548 |
| Celecoxib | 17 | $1,419 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 23 | $1,145 |
| Prednisone | 59 | $478 |
| Omeprazole | 46 | $327 |
| Famotidine | 31 | $283 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 43 | $202 |
| Gabapentin | 11 | $175 |
| Dicyclomine Hcl | 14 | $156 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerXeljanz | $12 | $154,63525 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 512 rheumatology providers in Texas.
Other rheumatology in Houston
- Naureen AlimHouston$397K
- Tareq Abou-KhamisHouston$116K
- Maureen MayesHouston$84K
- Maria Suarez AlmazorHouston$72K
- John ReveilleHouston$61K
- Michelle EisenbergHouston$53K
- Alfredo SardinasHouston$52K
- Adnan PeerHouston$49K
- Mujahed AlikhanHouston$41K
- Dianne WollastonHouston$39K
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.