Clarence Wheeler, MD
Sleep Medicine · Lubbock, TXNPI 1699776732
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.3% of the total across 117 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 23 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.8% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,789, more than ten times the $121 reported in 2019.
Across 117 payments — averaging $27.67 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Bayer$770
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$296
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$271
- Amgen$266
- Novo Nordisk$203
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$180
- plus $1K from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,18498%
- Education$542%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bayer | 24 | $770 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 10 | $296 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 9 | $271 |
| Amgen | 12 | $266 |
| Novo Nordisk | 13 | $203 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 3 | $180 |
| Medtronic | 4 | $173 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 3 | $166 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 10 | $153 |
| Novartis | 2 | $149 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 7 | $111 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $105 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $69 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 3 | $62 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $59 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 2 | $43 |
| GSK | 2 | $34 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $30 |
| BD | 1 | $29 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Merit Medical Systems Inc | 1 | $16 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
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.
How this compares
$3,238 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 112 sleep medicine providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 19 | $65,036 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 24 | $13,418 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 54 | $11,026 |
| Nebivolol Hcl | 34 | $1,269 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 11 | $593 |
| Carvedilol | 26 | $357 |
| Allopurinol | 16 | $228 |
| Lidocaine-PrilocaineLidocaine/Prilocaine | 11 | $202 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 17 | $174 |
| Gabapentin | 22 | $119 |
| Doxepin Hcl | 11 | $105 |
| Losartan Potassium | 14 | $84 |
| Spironolactone | 17 | $76 |
| Furosemide | 13 | $45 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| Akebia Therapeutics IncAuryxia | $296 | $65,03619 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $153 | $13,41824 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 65th percentile of 112 sleep medicine providers in Texas.
Other sleep medicine in Lubbock
- Gerard MeskillSugar Land$1M
- Vikas JainFrisco$673K
- Amit VermaHouston$493K
- Jerald SimmonsHouston$165K
- James AndrySan Antonio$100K
- William BurkesBeaumont$99K
- Ashwin GowdaAustin$71K
- John DebusDallas$38K
- Peter ObessoTyler$34K
- Karen Hentschel FranksSan Antonio$18K
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.