Surendra Rao, MD
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $2,205 of the $2,822 with a category attached, or 78.1%. 9 manufacturers reported payments, led by Biogen at 34.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $816 and has fallen 61.3% since, to $316 in 2025.
Across 35 payments — averaging $80.63 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Biogen$981
- AstraZeneca$385
- Novartis$373
- Argenx US, Inc.$362
- AbbVie$241
- UCB, Inc.$214
- plus $267 from 3 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$60021%
- Food & beverage$2,20578%
- Education$181%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Biogen | 11 | $981 |
| AstraZeneca | 4 | $385 |
| Novartis | 6 | $373 |
| Argenx US, Inc. | 4 | $362 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 4 | $241 |
| UCB, Inc. | 3 | $214 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 1 | $96 |
| Amgen | 1 | $91 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $80 |
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.
- TYSABRI$600
- ULTOMIRIS$235
- VYVGART HYTRULO$213
- KESIMPTA$117
- TECFIDERA$100
How this compares
$2,822 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 54 neurology providers in Hawaii.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BotoxOnabotulinumtoxina | 37 | $87,121 |
| QuliptaAtogepant | 19 | $30,009 |
| Nurtec OdtRimegepant Sulfate | 16 | $26,213 |
| Emgality PenGalcanezumab-Gnlm | 22 | $16,145 |
| Carbidopa-Levodopa-EntacaponeCarbidopa/Levodopa/Entacapone | 26 | $8,670 |
| Entacapone | 24 | $4,986 |
| Levetiracetam ErLevetiracetam | 11 | $3,817 |
| Levetiracetam | 73 | $3,067 |
| Carbidopa-LevodopaCarbidopa/Levodopa | 128 | $2,683 |
| Pyridostigmine Bromide | 24 | $2,114 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 24 | $1,896 |
| RizatriptanRizatriptan Benzoate | 37 | $1,687 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 23 | $1,653 |
| Propranolol Hcl ErPropranolol Hcl | 27 | $1,174 |
| Lamotrigine | 24 | $1,115 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieBotox, Qulipta | $241 | $117,13156 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 60th percentile of 54 neurology providers in Hawaii.
Other neurology in Lihue
- Leo MaherHonolulu$382K
- David KaminskasKailua$120K
- Leah RidgeHonolulu$47K
- Melvin YeeHonolulu$32K
- Kevin KimataHonolulu$24K
- Terry ShimamotoHonolulu$24K
- Michael RussoHonolulu$20K
- Kore LiowHonolulu$15K
- Ray RomeroEwa Beach$13K
- Fay GaoHonolulu$13K
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.