Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Jose Velez, MD

Nephrology · San Antonio, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Low-engagement
4458 MEDICAL DR STE 205, San Antonio, TX 78229
2106141515
In practice since 2007 (18 years)
NPI: 1578744538 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. Velez 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. Velez

Dr. Jose Velez is a nephrology specialist in San Antonio, TX, with 18 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Velez performed 2,276 Medicare services across 818 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Velez received a total of $5,350 from 39 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 196 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in nephrology. Most payments are for meals and travel — low-value interactions common across virtually all practicing physicians. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Velez 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.

✓ 18 years in practice ▲ Top 20% volume in TX $5,350 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
2,276
Medicare services
Top 20% in TX for nephrology
818
Unique beneficiaries
$81
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~126 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
Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity 342 $59 $140
Epoetin alfa injection (Procrit) for anemia 288 $5 $60
Chronic care management, first 20 min/month 265 $45 $100
Dialysis services, 4 or more physician visits per month (20 years or older) 250 $265 $650
Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) 246 $42 $167
Hospital follow-up visit, high complexity 207 $89 $200
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) 126 $68 $237
Hemodialysis, single evaluation 124 $53 $131
Chronic care management, additional 20 min/month 108 $36 $75
Initial hospital admission, moderate complexity 72 $96 $263
Critical care, first 30-74 min 65 $162 $545
Dialysis services, 2-3 physician visits per month (20 years or older) 59 $224 $539
Drug injection, under skin or into muscle 44 $10 $26
Blood count, hemoglobin 34 $2 $7
Initial hospital admission, high complexity 33 $124 $390
New patient office visit (45-59 min) 13 $117 $305
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 ↗
$5,350
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $764/year across 7 years
Top 19% in TX for nephrology
39
Companies
196
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.

Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$5,350 (100.0%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$1,020
2023
$1,301
2022
$1,042
2021
$604
2020
$317
2019
$599
2018
$467

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.
$912
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$607
Amgen Inc.
$403
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$285
Medtronic, Inc.
$274
AKEBIA THERAPEUTICS INC
$259
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$246
Travere Therapeutics, Inc.
$234
Vifor Pharma, Inc.
$209
Horizon Therapeutics plc
$174
Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$153
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
$141
Novo Nordisk Inc
$136
Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.
$121
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$120
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.
$96
OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC
$95
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$79
Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.
$69
Outset Medical Inc
$64
ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$62
Lilly USA, LLC
$59
Daiichi Sankyo Inc.
$59
Relypsa, Inc.
$57
Kyowa Kirin, Inc.
$56
Ardelyx, Inc.
$54
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$45
Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC
$41
CALLIDITAS THERAPEUTICS US INC.
$40
CorMedix Inc.
$37
NxStage Medical, Inc.
$27
Mallinckrodt LLC
$23
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$22
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$20
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
$16
Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$15
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$15
Allergan Inc.
$14
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$14
Top 3 companies account for 35.9% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ACTHAR · AURYXIA · Auryxia · BENLYSTA · CRYSVITA · Crysvita · DUZALLO · DefenCath · ENTRESTO · ENVARSUS · Edarbi · Envarsus · FARXIGA · Fabhalta · IBSRELA · INJECTAFER · INVOKANA · JARDIANCE · JYNARQUE · KRYSTEXXA · Kerendia · Korsuva · LIBERTY SELECT CYCLER · LINZESS · LIVTENCITY · LOKELMA · ONPATTRO · ONYX FRONTIER · Ozempic · PURIFIED CORTROPHIN GEL · Parsabiv · RAYALDEE · Rayaldee · SYMPLICITY G3 · TARPEYO · TAVNEOS · TERLIVAZ · TRADJENTA · ULTOMIRIS · Uloric · Velphoro · Veltassa · 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 →

Most payments (100%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians.

Equivalent to $235 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a nephrology specialist in San Antonio?
Compare nephrologists in the San Antonio area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
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Geographic Context

Nephrologists within 10 mi
101
Per 100K population
5.0
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. Velez is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 20% in TX), with low-engagement industry engagement in the top 19% of TX peers, with 18 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. Velez experienced with hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Velez performed 342 hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity 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. Velez receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Velez received a total of $5,350 from 39 companies across 196 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. Velez's costs compare to other nephrologists in San Antonio?
Dr. Velez's average Medicare payment per service is $81. 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. Velez) 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 →
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 →