Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Steven Mercado, M.D.

Internal Medicine · San Antonio, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Low-engagement
1434 E SONTERRA BLVD, San Antonio, TX 78258
2106756620
In practice since 2014 (11 years)
NPI: 1043615503 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. Mercado 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 →
Are you Dr. Mercado? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Mercado

Dr. Steven Mercado is an internal medicine specialist in San Antonio, TX, with 11 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Mercado performed 577 Medicare services across 387 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Mercado received a total of $10,977 from 44 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 301 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in internal medicine. 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. Mercado 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.

✓ 11 years in practice ▲ 577 Medicare services $10,977 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
577
Medicare services
Bottom 45% in TX for internal medicine
387
Unique beneficiaries
$62
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~52 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 (20-29 min) 353 $59 $173
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) 182 $69 $254
New patient office visit (45-59 min) 17 $104 $389
Urinalysis, manual 14 $3 $10
New patient office visit (30-44 min) 11 $70 $254
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 ↗
$10,977
Total received (2021-2024)
Avg $2,744/year across 4 years
Top 8% in TX for internal medicine
44
Companies
301
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
$10,977 (100.0%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$2,823
2023
$3,338
2022
$3,316
2021
$1,501

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Novo Nordisk Inc
$1,330
ABBVIE INC.
$1,109
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$1,003
Lilly USA, LLC
$992
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$927
Nevro Corp.
$872
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$688
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.
$499
Amgen Inc.
$304
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
$259
SHIELD THERAPEUTICS INC
$250
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$206
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$202
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd.
$193
Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.
$184
Eisai Inc.
$153
Althera Pharmaceuticals LLC
$151
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$150
SI-BONE, INC.
$143
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$142
Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$125
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$125
Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.
$125
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$125
PFIZER INC.
$119
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$116
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation
$75
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$49
Seqirus USA Inc
$45
Hologic, LLC
$35
Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
$28
Organon LLC
$22
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$22
IMPEL PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$22
Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.), Inc.
$22
Bigfoot Biomedical Inc
$21
Corcept Therapeutics
$21
Exact Sciences Corporation
$20
Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.
$19
Lundbeck LLC
$18
Corium, LLC
$18
IDORSIA PHARMACEUTICALS US INC
$17
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$16
Mannkind Corporation
$15
Top 3 companies account for 31.4% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ACCRUFER · ADLARITY · AFREZZA · AIRSUPRA · APTIMA · AREXVY · Auvelity · BELSOMRA · BREZTRI · Cologuard Collection Kit · DIFICID · ELIQUIS · EMGALITY · ENTRESTO · EVENITY · FARXIGA · FASENRA · FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT · Fabhalta · Fluad · Flucelvax · GARDASIL · GEMTESA · IFUSE IMPLANT · JARDIANCE · Kerendia · Korlym · LEQVIO · Leqembi · MOUNJARO · NEXLETOL · NEXLIZET · NEXPLANON · NUEDEXTA · NURTEC ODT · Omnia · Otezla · Ozempic · PAXLOVID · PROMACTA · QULIPTA · QUVIVIQ · RYBELSUS · Repatha · Roszet · Rybelsus · SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA · SHINGRIX · SPRAVATO · STEGLATRO · Senza · TRULICITY · Trudhesa · UBRELVY · UNITY DIABETES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM · UPTRAVI · VALCHLOR · VERQUVO · VIBERZI · VOQUEZNA · VRAYLAR · VYEPTI · VYNDAQEL · Vascepa · Veozah · XARELTO · XIFAXAN · ZEPBOUND
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. Total industry engagement is in the top 8% for internal medicine in TX.

Equivalent to $1,902 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for an internal medicine specialist in San Antonio?
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Geographic Context

Internal medicine physicians within 10 mi
1,149
Per 100K population
56.4
County median income
$70,571
Nearest hospital
SOUTH TEXAS SPINE AND SURGICAL HOSPITAL
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. Mercado is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with low-engagement industry engagement in the top 8% of TX peers.

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. Mercado experienced with office visit, established patient (20-29 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Mercado performed 353 office visit, established patient (20-29 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. Mercado receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Mercado received a total of $10,977 from 44 companies across 301 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. Mercado's costs compare to other internal medicine physicians in San Antonio?
Dr. Mercado's average Medicare payment per service is $62. 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. Mercado) 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 →