Violeta Rus, MD
Rheumatology · Baltimore, MDNPI 1285681320
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $19,750 of the $20,771 with a category attached, or 95.1%. Amgen accounts for 95.1% of it on its own, with 3 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $7,250 and has fallen 98.4% since, to $115 in 2025.
Across 19 payments — averaging $1093.21 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$20K
- Novartis$802
- Sanofi$115
- GSK$104
Across 33 payments — averaging $10,264 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$139K
- Bristol Myers Squibb$111K
- AbbVie$87K
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$752
- Novartis$305
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$19,75095%
- Food & beverage$1,0215%
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.
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
$20,771 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 173 rheumatology providers in Maryland.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BenlystaBelimumab | 41 | $198,368 |
| EnbrelEtanercept | 13 | $99,810 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 131 | $8,568 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 35 | $4,076 |
| Colchicine | 22 | $1,530 |
| Celecoxib | 26 | $714 |
| Gabapentin | 11 | $624 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 20 | $486 |
| Prednisone | 58 | $415 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 29 | $362 |
| Pregabalin | 11 | $284 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 21 | $272 |
| Acetaminophen-CodeineAcetaminophen With Codeine | 15 | $152 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 34 | $89 |
| Meloxicam | 14 | $15 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GSKBenlysta | $104 | $198,36841 claims |
| AmgenEnbrel | $19,750 | $99,81013 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 80th percentile of 173 rheumatology providers in Maryland.
Other rheumatology in Baltimore
- Michelle PetriBaltimore$381K
- Marc HochbergBaltimore$124K
- Clifton BinghamBaltimore$117K
- Lisa ChristopherBaltimore$92K
- Philip SeoBaltimore$84K
- Laura HummersBaltimore$80K
- Rachel WallworkBaltimore$71K
- Thomas Grader BeckBaltimore$55K
- Andrea FavaBaltimore$38K
- Christopher MecoliBaltimore$34K
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.