Gregory Ballard, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery · Independence, MONPI 1942367040
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $10,400 of the $14,372 with a category attached, or 72.4%. Conformis, Inc. accounts for 79.8% of it on its own, with 17 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $11,421 and has fallen 98.4% since, to $185 in 2025.
Across 64 payments — averaging $224.56 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Conformis, Inc.$11K
- Stryker$2K
- Smith+Nephew$336
- Johnson & Johnson$160
- Davol Inc.$133
- Amgen$128
- plus $563 from 12 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $54,095 each. An ownership or investment interest held by the physician or an immediate family member.
- Spinal Simplicity, LLC$379K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$10,40072%
- Travel & lodging$1,57811%
- Food & beverage$2,39317%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Conformis, Inc. | 18 | $11,464 |
| Stryker | 12 | $1,587 |
| Smith+Nephew | 4 | $336 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 5 | $160 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $133 |
| Amgen | 9 | $128 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 3 | $125 |
| Linvatec Corporation | 1 | $115 |
| Maxx Orthopedics, Inc. | 1 | $104 |
| Titan Surgical Group, LLC | 1 | $44 |
| Bioventus LLC | 2 | $37 |
| Acumed LLC | 1 | $29 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $23 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Molnlycke Health Care US, LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Dynasplint Systems Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Greenwich Biosciences, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, 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.
- iTotal PS$10,400
- MAKO$1,089
- iTotal CR$446
- ACTISHIELD CF$175
- Actera Hip Stem$150
- ARISTA AH FLEXITIP$133
- REAL INTELLIGENCE$125
- BioBrace 23mm$115
- iTotal Identity PS$109
- Identity Imprint Knee Replacement System$109
How this compares
$14,372 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 455 orthopaedic surgery providers in Missouri.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 118 | $34,185 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 157 | $2,417 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 118 | $1,437 |
| Methylprednisolone | 189 | $1,250 |
| Etodolac | 22 | $997 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 120 | $470 |
| Meloxicam | 143 | $468 |
| Gabapentin | 47 | $229 |
| Celecoxib | 32 | $147 |
| Amoxicillin | 149 | $144 |
| Clindamycin Hcl | 55 | $126 |
| Levofloxacin | 32 | $85 |
| Ondansetron Hcl | 14 | $77 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 11 | $64 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 12 | $56 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $160 | $34,185118 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 70th percentile of 455 orthopaedic surgery providers in Missouri.
Other orthopaedic surgery in Independence
- Matthew SmithColumbia$2.9M
- Jay KeenerSaint Louis$2.2M
- John WatsonSaint Louis$1.7M
- Peter ChalmersSaint Louis$603K
- Katherine BurnsBridgeton$491K
- Jeremy StattonLees Summit$457K
- Lionel MetzSaint Louis$428K
- Michael HellmanLees Summit$365K
- Jon CarlsonSaint Louis$354K
- Akin CilKansas City$318K
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.