Cheng Tao, MD
Neurological Surgery · Huntsville, ALNPI 1467453886
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by ownership interests: $182,407 of the $235,603 with a category attached, or 77.4%. 29 manufacturers reported payments, led by Kalitec Direct LLC at 53.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $101,957 and has fallen 98.7% since, to $1,368 in 2025. Among neurological surgery clinicians in AL 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.
Across 231 payments — averaging $1019.93 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Kalitec Direct LLC$125K
- North Alabama Surgical Services, LLC$57K
- Innovasis Inc$35K
- Globus Medical$4K
- Mirus, LLC$3K
- Orthofix Medical, Inc.$3K
- plus $8K from 23 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $8899.00 each. An ownership or investment interest held by the physician or an immediate family member.
- Kalitec Direct LLC$62K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$36,00015%
- Travel & lodging$6,8973%
- Food & beverage$10,2984%
- Ownership interest$182,40777%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kalitec Direct LLC | 7 | $125,438 |
| North Alabama Surgical Services, LLC | 1 | $57,408 |
| Innovasis Inc | 6 | $34,936 |
| Globus Medical(2 entities) | 33 | $3,698 |
| Mirus, LLC | 4 | $3,032 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 22 | $2,681 |
| Curiteva, Inc. | 6 | $2,432 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 75 | $2,089 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 7 | $1,099 |
| Providence Medical Technology, Inc. | 12 | $617 |
| Boston Scientific | 27 | $560 |
| Alphatec Spine, Inc | 4 | $501 |
| Carlsmed, Inc. | 2 | $237 |
| Cerapedics Inc. | 3 | $176 |
| Nanovis LLC | 1 | $172 |
| Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc. | 2 | $92 |
| Prime Surgical, LLC | 2 | $64 |
| Abbott | 3 | $59 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 2 | $46 |
| Spinal Elements, Inc. | 1 | $38 |
| Stryker | 2 | $37 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 2 | $36 |
| Kerecis Limited | 1 | $30 |
| 4web, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Aesculap, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Vertex | 1 | $25 |
| Lemaitre Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC | 1 | $14 |
| Wenzel Spine, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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.
- CosmoLock$36,500
- EUROPA Pedicle Screw System$3,017
- XLIF$1,995
- Unity Lumbosacral Fixation System$1,249
- JANUS Midline Fixation Screw$1,020
- CYGNUS Anterior Cervical Plate$1,017
- Spinal-Stim$991
- DIVERGENCE-L$949
- Phoenix CDX$937
- PILLAR PL and TL PEEK Spacer System$791
- NGage Surgical Mesh System$791
- ExcelsiusGPS Robotic Navigation System$699
- PILLAR SA PEEK Spacer System$458
- Other - Miscellaneous$452
- Firebird Deformity Correction System$375
- SKYHAWK Lateral Interbody Fusion System & Lateral Plate System$229
- PILLAR SA PTC Spacer System$229
- TDX Posterior Dynamic Stabilization$229
- InSWing$229
- iFuse Implant$221
How this compares
$235,603 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 97 neurological surgery providers in Alabama.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 92 | $849 |
| Methocarbamol | 66 | $623 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 19 | $208 |
| Methylprednisolone | 15 | $126 |
| Gabapentin | 15 | $125 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 28 | $97 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 11 | $53 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 16 | $48 |
| Diazepam | 17 | $18 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Huntsville
- John JohnsonHuntsville$250K
- Joel PickettHuntsville$72K
- Jason BanksHuntsville$65K
- Sanat DixitHuntsville$5K
- Rhett MurrayHuntsville$4K
- Moneeb EhteshamHuntsville$3K
- Thomas OstergardHuntsville$2K
- Mark HadleyBirmingham$104K
- Andrew ErwoodBirmingham$85K
- Marshall HollandBirmingham$81K
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.