Suzanne Lasek Nesselquist, MD
Internal Medicine · Houston, TXNPI 1518075357
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 98 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 20 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 18.9% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $830, more than ten times the $33 reported in 2021.
Across 98 payments — averaging $19.47 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$360
- AstraZeneca$248
- AbbVie$228
- Pfizer$184
- Lilly USA, LLC$161
- Novo Nordisk$143
- plus $585 from 14 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,908100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen | 24 | $360 |
| AstraZeneca | 11 | $248 |
| AbbVie | 11 | $228 |
| Pfizer | 11 | $184 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 7 | $161 |
| Novo Nordisk | 6 | $143 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 5 | $113 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 5 | $86 |
| GSK | 3 | $73 |
| Novartis | 2 | $57 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 2 | $48 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $34 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC | 2 | $33 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $23 |
| Currax Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $17 |
| IBSA Pharma Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $17 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $15 |
How this compares
$1,908 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 7,675 internal medicine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 135 | $131,742 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 63 | $64,847 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 40 | $53,884 |
| GemtesaVibegron | 38 | $40,389 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 32 | $36,596 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 22 | $33,736 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 18 | $29,682 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 22 | $27,690 |
| SynthroidLevothyroxine Sodium | 245 | $23,701 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 19 | $21,560 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 21 | $20,837 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 27 | $20,548 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 13 | $11,156 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 408 | $6,836 |
| PaxlovidNirmatrelvir/Ritonavir | 31 | $5,717 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis, Paxlovid, Premarin, Lyrica | $184 | $147,068195 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro, Trulicity | $161 | $70,33354 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $143 | $53,88440 claims |
| AbbVieSynthroid, Linzess, Armour Thyroid | $228 | $45,997289 claims |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.Gemtesa | $113 | $40,38938 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $248 | $27,69022 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $15 | $21,56019 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta | $73 | $16,40926 claims |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLCLevothyroxine Sodium | $33 | $5,315302 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 75th percentile of 7,675 internal medicine providers in Texas.
Other internal medicine in Houston
- Hussein TawbiHouston$365K
- Hans LeeHouston$327K
- Tapan KadiaHouston$311K
- Nitin JainHouston$281K
- Krina PatelHouston$255K
- Nicholas ShortHouston$247K
- Naveen PemmarajuHouston$230K
- Mariana Chavez MacgregorHouston$188K
- Shumei KatoHouston$180K
- Sukhdeep BasraHouston$168K
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.