James Killeffer, MD
Neurological Surgery · Knoxville, TNNPI 1851333728
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $161,458 of the $164,914 with a category attached, or 97.9%. Arkis Biosciences Inc accounts for 98.6% of it on its own, with 17 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $162,803 and has fallen 100.0% since, to $70 in 2025. Among neurological surgery clinicians in TN with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 55 payments — averaging $2998.43 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Arkis Biosciences Inc$163K
- Sanara Medtech Inc.$942
- Stryker$357
- Zimvie Inc.$207
- Zimmer Biomet$177
- Medtronic$144
- plus $535 from 12 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$161,45898%
- Travel & lodging$9931%
- Food & beverage$2,4431%
- Education$200%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Arkis Biosciences Inc | 6 | $162,551 |
| Sanara Medtech Inc. | 17 | $942 |
| Stryker | 2 | $357 |
| Zimvie Inc. | 4 | $207 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 7 | $177 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 4 | $144 |
| Spineology Inc. | 1 | $118 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 2 | $83 |
| CSL Behring | 2 | $53 |
| Spine Wave, Inc. | 1 | $45 |
| Highridge Medical LLC | 1 | $42 |
| Innovation Technologies Inc | 1 | $42 |
| Misonix Inc | 2 | $36 |
| Wound Management Technologies, Inc | 1 | $32 |
| Aesculap, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $21 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $16 |
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.
- ARKIS CEREBRO FLO EVD CATHETER$162,451
- EVEREST SPINAL SYSTEM$318
- CellerateRx$227
- VISUM$198
- OPERON$198
- OZARK CERVICAL PLATE SYSTEM$159
- YUKON OCT SPINAL SYSTEM$159
- CAPRI CORPECTOMY CAGE SYSTEM$159
- Mobi-C$124
- OPTIMESH EXPANDABLE INTERBODY FUSION SYSTEM$118
How this compares
$164,914 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 156 neurological surgery providers in Tennessee.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Methylprednisolone | 18 | $145 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 15 | $83 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Knoxville
- Joshua MillerKnoxville$49K
- David HaugeKnoxville$38K
- Todd AbelKnoxville$21K
- Richard BoyerKnoxville$14K
- William SnyderKnoxville$14K
- Christopher GallatiKnoxville$8K
- Kevin FoleyMemphis$162.4M
- Maurice SmithMemphis$4.4M
- Brian OshaughnessyNashville$2.1M
- Adam ArthurMemphis$1.9M
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.