Tahira Alves, MD
Nephrology · San Antonio, TXNPI 1003913617
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $10,490 of the $15,082 with a category attached, or 69.6%. 28 manufacturers reported payments, led by Travere Therapeutics, Inc. at 37.5% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $7,630, more than ten times the $355 reported in 2019. Among nephrology clinicians in TX with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 495 payments — averaging $30.47 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$6K
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Amgen$1K
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$972
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$777
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$524
- plus $4K from 22 others
Across 296 payments — averaging $20,563 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.
- CSL Behring$4.4M
- Vertex$784K
- AstraZeneca$698K
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$95K
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$72K
- Astrazeneca UK Limited$34K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$3,60024%
- Travel & lodging$9306%
- Food & beverage$10,49070%
- Education$620%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 41 | $5,651 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 70 | $1,430 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 78 | $1,398 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 55 | $972 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 28 | $777 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 23 | $524 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 17 | $491 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 25 | $485 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 33 | $482 |
| Novartis | 15 | $334 |
| GSK | 18 | $330 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 13 | $324 |
| Bayer | 17 | $323 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 13 | $313 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 8 | $269 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 6 | $156 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 8 | $136 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 6 | $123 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 4 | $118 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $81 |
| Outset Medical Inc | 2 | $74 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $66 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $49 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 2 | $41 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $39 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Merck | 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.
How this compares
$15,082 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,070 nephrology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 34 | $112,964 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 50 | $46,777 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 23 | $22,897 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 23 | $13,570 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 48 | $10,798 |
| ProsolParenteral Amino Acid 20% No.1 | 52 | $10,762 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 158 | $4,683 |
| Calcium Acetate | 26 | $3,261 |
| Clonidine | 19 | $2,482 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 29 | $1,513 |
| Furosemide | 147 | $1,264 |
| Bumetanide | 16 | $1,090 |
| Calcitriol | 46 | $932 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 61 | $866 |
| Losartan Potassium | 135 | $812 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $972 | $112,96434 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $1,430 | $60,34773 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $123 | $22,89723 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 90th percentile of 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
Other nephrology in San Antonio
- Luis VelezSan Antonio$505K
- Rashid SharafSan Antonio$340K
- Carl DukesSan Antonio$238K
- Pablo PergolaSan Antonio$164K
- Varshasb BroumandSan Antonio$118K
- Shweta BansalSan Antonio$89K
- Rajeev NarayanSan Antonio$57K
- Anwar GergesSan Antonio$50K
- Matthew SchaeferSan Antonio$46K
- Kumar SharmaSan Antonio$45K
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.