Valente Ramos, MD
Hospitalist · Torrance, CANPI 1437179066
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 281 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 23 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.5% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $1,278 and has fallen 72.6% since, to $350 in 2025. Among hospitalist clinicians in CA 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 281 payments — averaging $19.25 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$947
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$662
- Novartis$610
- Merck$510
- Pfizer$497
- Abiomed$466
- plus $2K from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$5,409100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson | 49 | $947 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 41 | $662 |
| Novartis | 30 | $610 |
| Merck | 28 | $510 |
| Pfizer | 28 | $497 |
| Abiomed | 21 | $466 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 19 | $427 |
| Shionogi Inc | 21 | $390 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 11 | $184 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 9 | $152 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 6 | $132 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 3 | $76 |
| Verona Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $50 |
| Gilead | 2 | $47 |
| Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $46 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $37 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $37 |
| Biomerieux Inc | 1 | $28 |
| Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Sobi, Inc | 1 | $25 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Cytovale, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| UCB, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
How this compares
$5,409 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 2,469 hospitalist 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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 18 | $10,159 |
| Levetiracetam | 11 | $447 |
| Potassium Chloride | 17 | $181 |
| Furosemide | 33 | $101 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 13 | $80 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 17 | $73 |
| Cephalexin | 20 | $65 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 24 | $62 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 15 | $55 |
| Prednisone | 12 | $47 |
| Omeprazole | 12 | $37 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 14 | $28 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 15 | $18 |
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 | $497 | $10,15918 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 2,469 hospitalist providers in California.
Other hospitalist in Torrance
- Steven WongTorrance$36K
- Tracy BercuTorrance$6K
- Kevin MakTorrance$4K
- Tasneem BholatTorrance$3K
- Jennifer SchneiderSanta Rosa$1.2M
- Soham ShahBakersfield$844K
- Alpesh AminOrange$428K
- Retha GoodglickSanta Monica$156K
- Robert WachterSan Francisco$75K
- Edward LeeLos Angeles$30K
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.