Has Alex Sweeney, MD received payments from drug or device companies?

Yes. Drug and device makers reported $33,532 in general payments to Alex Sweeney, MD across 55 transactions between 2019–2025. Most Open Payments records nationally are meals worth under $20; a reported payment is not evidence of wrongdoing.

Does a payment mean Alex Sweeney, MD did something wrong?

No. Federal law requires drug and device makers to report almost every transfer of value to a physician, including a $14 sandwich at a lunch presentation. Consulting fees, research funding and royalties to device inventors are ordinary, legal parts of medicine. This site reports what was disclosed; it makes no allegation.

Where does this information about Alex Sweeney, MD come from?

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Payments come from Open Payments, published under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Billing and prescribing figures come from the Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners and Part D Prescriber public use files for 2024.

Alex Sweeney, MD

Otolaryngology · Houston, TXNPI 1720232127

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (43.5%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Cochlear Americas at 54.1% of the total. Among otolaryngology clinicians in TX 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.

$33,532in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 55 payments — averaging $609.67 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

Cochlear Americas$18K
Oticon Medical, LLC$8K
Med-el Corporation$7K
Acclarent, Inc$255
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.$175
Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions AB$122
plus $386 from 5 others

$24,904in research payments, 2019–2025

Across 1 payment — averaging $24,904 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.

Advanced Bionics, LLC$25K

What the payments were for

Consulting fees$14,60044%
Speaking & faculty fees$3,0009%
Travel & lodging$12,01536%
Food & beverage$3,91612%

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
Cochlear Americas	24	$18,134
Oticon Medical, LLC	2	$7,871
Med-el Corporation	17	$6,588
Acclarent, Inc	3	$255
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.	1	$175
Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions AB	1	$122
Aerin Medical Inc.	1	$114
Advanced Bionics, LLC	2	$107
Axogen	2	$97
Ambu Inc.	1	$56
Olympus America Inc.	1	$12

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.

Cochlear Nucleus CI632 cochlear implant with Slim Modiolar electrode$17,376
Baha$16,841
OSIA OSI300 IMPLANT$16,356
PONTO BONE ANCHORED HEARING SYSTEM$7,871
MED-EL Maestro Cochlear Implant System$6,389
VIBRANT Soundbridge Middle Ear Implant and BONEBRIDGE System$4,430
Baha BI300 implant 4 mm$1,020
Cochlear Osia OSI200 Implant$1,020
Nucleus$486
Inspire$175
ACCLARENT AERA EUSTACHIAN TUBE BALLOON DILATION SYSTEM$123
Vivaer RF Stylus$114
TruDi Navigation System$114

How this compares

$33,532 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 729 otolaryngology providers in Texas.

See all otolaryngology providers in Texas →

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024

$66,819

Medicare patients

287

Services billed

497

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
Ciprofloxacin-DexamethasoneCiprofloxacin Hcl/Dexameth	44	$4,570
Ofloxacin	24	$822
Mometasone Furoate	22	$269
Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav	27	$253
Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen	26	$149

Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.

Other otolaryngology in Houston

Amber LuongHouston$426K
Arjuna KuperanHouston$348K
Ron KarniHouston$317K
Martin CitardiHouston$245K
Michael KaplanHouston$202K
Masayoshi TakashimaHouston$167K
William YaoHouston$154K
Andrew HuangHouston$137K
Manish WaniHouston$100K
Shane PahlavanHouston$95K

See the full list for Texas →

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.

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