Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Alejandro Velasco De La Cuesta, MD

Cardiovascular Disease · San Antonio, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Research-focused
4502 MEDICAL DR, San Antonio, TX 78229
2103584000
In practice since 2010 (15 years)
NPI: 1518270727 verify on NPPES ↗
Very High
DATA COVERAGE
Data in 4 of 4 federal sources
Measures public federal data availability — not provider quality
Informational, not a quality rating. This page presents federal public records about Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta from CMS (NPPES, Open Payments, Medicare Provider Utilization, PECOS). It is not medical advice, an endorsement, or a judgment of clinical quality. Always consult the provider directly and a licensed clinician for medical decisions. Read methodology →
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What this data tells you about Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta

Dr. Alejandro Velasco De La Cuesta is a cardiovascular disease specialist in San Antonio, TX, with 15 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta performed 59 Medicare services across 58 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta received a total of $51,579 from 14 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 160 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in cardiovascular disease. The majority of payments are classified as research and scientific activities (grants and research funding). Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. This is not a quality rating. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.

✓ 15 years in practice ▲ 59 Medicare services $51,579 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
59
Medicare services
Bottom 3% in TX for cardiovascular disease
Lower Medicare volume may reflect subspecialty focus, hospital-based work, or a higher share of non-Medicare patients.
58
Unique beneficiaries
$109
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~4 Medicare services per year of practice

Top procedures by volume

Ranked by number of services performed for Medicare patients. Avg. submitted charge is what the provider billed; avg. Medicare payment is what CMS paid.

Procedure Volume Avg. paid Avg. submitted
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) 35 $95 $311
Initial hospital admission, high complexity 13 $133 $424
New patient office visit (45-59 min) 11 $127 $405
How to read this data: This reflects Medicare patients only (typically 65+). Payment amounts are what Medicare paid the provider, not your out-of-pocket cost. A higher procedure volume generally indicates more experience with that procedure.

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$51,579
Total received (2019-2024)
Avg $10,316/year across 5 years
Top 10% in TX for cardiovascular disease
14
Companies
160
Individual payments
All payments are legal and publicly reported · Not evidence of wrongdoing · How to interpret →

Payment profile

Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.

Scientific / Research
Research funding and grants
$31,927 (61.9%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$19,653 (38.1%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$6,948
2023
$3,883
2022
$13,124
2021
$25,258
2019
$2,367

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Medtronic, Inc.
$23,213
Boston Scientific Corporation
$8,659
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$7,176
BIOTRONIK INC.
$3,646
Abbott Laboratories
$2,553
Medical Device Business Services, Inc.
$2,512
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$2,222
Biosense Webster, Inc.
$938
Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.
$301
ATRICURE, INC.
$158
CARDIVA MEDICAL, INC.
$88
Baylis Medical Company Inc
$58
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$37
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$18
Top 3 companies account for 75.7% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
AMVIA EDGE · ASSURITY · ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM · AVEIR · AZURE XT DR MRI SURESCAN · Acticor · Acticor 7 VR-T DX · Adapta · Advisa · Assurity Pacemaker · BIOMONITOR · CARDIVA VASCADE 6/7F VCS · CARTO 3 · COBALT DR MRI SURESCAN · EMBLEM MRI S-ICD · EMBLEM S ICD ELECTRODE DELIVERY SYSTEM · ENSITE PRECISION · General - Therapies · JOT DX · LifeVest · MICRA · OCTARAY MAPPING CATHETER · OPTIMIZER · Optimizer · PAMIRA · Rivacor 7 DR-T · SQ-RX PULSE GENERATOR · Solia · SupraCross RF Wire · VISITAG SURPOINT External Processing Unit · VersaCross Access Solution · WATCHMAN Access System · XARELTO
Should you be concerned? Payments from pharmaceutical and device companies are legal and common — 57% of U.S. physicians receive at least one. They often reflect legitimate consulting, research, or education. What matters is whether a recommended drug or device appears in your doctor's payment records. If so, consider asking your doctor about it. How to interpret this data →

The majority of payments (62%) are classified as scientific/research, suggesting involvement in clinical studies, grants, or innovation-related work. Total industry engagement is in the top 10% for cardiovascular disease in TX.

Equivalent to $87,422 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a cardiovascular disease specialist in San Antonio?
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Geographic Context

Cardiologists within 10 mi
150
Per 100K population
7.4
County median income
$70,571
Nearest hospital
UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
0.0 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry ✓ NPPES Weekly updates
Medicare Enrollment ✓ PECOS Monthly updates
Practice Data ✓ Medicare Util. Annual (CY lag)
Industry Payments ✓ Open Payments CY 2024
Disciplinary History — Not public N/A

This provider has data in 4 of 4 available federal datasets, with a Data Coverage level of Very High. This measures how much public data is available about a provider — not how good they are. How we calculate this →

Summary

Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with research-focused industry engagement in the top 10% of TX peers, with 15 years of NPI registration.

This summary is auto-generated from federal data. It describes data availability and patterns — not clinical quality. Read our methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta experienced with office visit, established patient (30-39 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta performed 35 office visit, established patient (30-39 min) services. Research suggests that higher procedure volume is often associated with better outcomes, particularly for complex procedures. Note that Medicare data only captures patients aged 65 and older, so the total practice volume across all patients is likely higher.
Does Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta received a total of $51,579 from 14 companies across 160 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common among physicians — 57% of all U.S. physicians receive at least one industry payment. Patients may wish to ask their doctor about these relationships, especially if a recommended drug or device appears in the payment records.
How do Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta's costs compare to other cardiologists in San Antonio?
Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta's average Medicare payment per service is $109. Note that these figures represent what Medicare pays, not your out-of-pocket cost, which depends on your specific insurance plan and deductible. Procedure-level data above shows both what was submitted and what Medicare paid for each service type.
What does Data Coverage mean?
Data Coverage (currently Very High for Dr. Velasco De La Cuesta) measures how much public federal data is available about a provider. It is not a quality rating. A "Very High" or "High" level means the provider has data across multiple federal sources (NPPES, PECOS, Medicare Utilization, Open Payments), indicating a long track record of practice, Medicare participation, and industry disclosure. A "Low" or "Moderate" level may simply mean the provider is newer, does not see Medicare patients, or has not received any industry payments — none of which are inherently negative. Read our full methodology →
Is this data up to date?
Each data source has its own update cycle. Provider registry data (NPPES) is updated weekly. Medicare enrollment (PECOS) is updated monthly. Medicare practice data has a ~2 year lag — the most recent available is typically 2 years prior. Industry payment data (Open Payments) is published annually, usually in June, covering the prior calendar year. We display the data date prominently on each section so you always know how current it is. See our data freshness policy →

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About this page

All data on this page is sourced verbatim from public federal records published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): NPPES ↗, Open Payments ↗, Medicare Provider Utilization ↗, and PECOS. Publication is mandated by the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (§6002 ACA, 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7h) and the Freedom of Information Act.

This page is not medical advice, an endorsement, a recommendation, or a quality rating. The Transparency Score measures data completeness — how much federal information exists for this provider — not clinical performance, patient outcomes, or quality of care. Always verify information directly with the provider and consult a licensed clinician before making medical decisions.

Provider corrections: Provider portal · Privacy questions: Privacy Policy · Terms: Terms of Use · Methodology: Methodology

Data Disclaimer — Data sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), Open Payments program, Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data, and Provider Enrollment & Certification data (PECOS). Published under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This website is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by CMS, HHS, or the U.S. Government. Data may contain errors as reported to CMS by providers and reporting entities. Payments from industry are legal and do not indicate wrongdoing. Medicare data reflects only patients aged 65+ or those with qualifying disabilities. For corrections, contact CMS directly. This information does not constitute medical advice and should not be used as the sole basis for choosing a healthcare provider. Procedure descriptions use plain language and do not reference CPT® codes, which are copyrighted by the American Medical Association. Full methodology → · Report a data error → · Privacy policy →