Suzanne Kafaja, MD
Rheumatology · Los Angeles, CANPI 1962684423
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $5,280 of the $6,828 with a category attached, or 77.3%. Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. accounts for 87.8% of it on its own, with 3 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $5,995 and has fallen 89.4% since, to $635 in 2025.
Across 13 payments — averaging $525.21 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$6K
- Novartis$669
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$105
- Amgen$59
Across 76 payments — averaging $7663.49 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.
- Amgen$132K
- Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$125K
- Genentech, Inc.$94K
- GSK$89K
- Novartis$62K
- Seagen Inc.$34K
- plus $47K from 4 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$5,28077%
- Travel & lodging$75711%
- Food & beverage$79112%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 5 | $5,995 |
| Novartis | 6 | $669 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 1 | $105 |
| Amgen | 1 | $59 |
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
$6,828 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 808 rheumatology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ActemraTocilizumab | 36 | $171,643 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 18 | $144,538 |
| OrenciaAbatacept | 17 | $139,160 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 70 | $26,920 |
| Sildenafil Citrate | 24 | $22,570 |
| Mycophenolic AcidMycophenolate Sodium | 15 | $15,603 |
| KonvomepOmeprazole/Sodium Bicarbonate | 13 | $13,171 |
| Dexlansoprazole DrDexlansoprazole | 20 | $6,316 |
| Cevimeline Hcl | 14 | $3,695 |
| Pilocarpine Hcl | 18 | $2,148 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 63 | $1,747 |
| Leflunomide | 15 | $1,526 |
| Famotidine | 85 | $1,490 |
| Acyclovir | 11 | $1,325 |
| Prednisone | 68 | $916 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other rheumatology in Los Angeles
- Haoling WengLos Angeles$562K
- Glenn EhresmannLos Angeles$450K
- Elizabeth VolkmannLos Angeles$400K
- Daniel ArkfeldLos Angeles$378K
- Maureen McMahonLos Angeles$374K
- Leanna WiseLos Angeles$286K
- Jon GilesLos Angeles$248K
- Christina Charles-SchoemanLos Angeles$231K
- Karina Marianne TorralbaLos Angeles$142K
- Thomas RomanoLos Angeles$131K
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.