James Merriam, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Greenville, SCNPI 1386871093
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $7,227 of the $10,571 with a category attached, or 68.4%. 30 manufacturers reported payments, led by Bayer at 27.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $4,080 and has fallen 90.8% since, to $375 in 2025.
Across 460 payments — averaging $22.98 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Bayer$3K
- Amgen$2K
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Novartis$873
- Pfizer$667
- Boehringer Ingelheim$574
- plus $2K from 24 others
Across 17 payments — averaging $42,228 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.
- Novartis$718K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$3,32031%
- Food & beverage$7,22768%
- Education$240%
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 | 30 | $2,938 |
| Amgen | 102 | $1,617 |
| AstraZeneca | 37 | $1,425 |
| Novartis | 59 | $873 |
| Pfizer | 40 | $667 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 34 | $574 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 42 | $512 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 20 | $337 |
| Gilead | 27 | $276 |
| Merck | 16 | $274 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 12 | $184 |
| Boston Scientific | 6 | $169 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 5 | $111 |
| Abbott | 3 | $76 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 3 | $63 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 4 | $53 |
| Abiomed | 1 | $46 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 2 | $43 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $42 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 2 | $42 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 3 | $41 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $40 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 1 | $23 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, 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.
How this compares
$10,571 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 257 cardiovascular disease providers in South Carolina.
See all cardiovascular disease providers in South Carolina →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 834 | $875,489 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 218 | $219,997 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 240 | $161,453 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 140 | $145,777 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 108 | $144,576 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 125 | $140,516 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 91 | $111,664 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 95 | $98,124 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 75 | $96,408 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 89 | $50,275 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 52 | $43,998 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 43 | $43,959 |
| WegovySemaglutide | 24 | $33,426 |
| CorlanorIvabradine Hcl | 22 | $18,213 |
| Icosapent Ethyl | 56 | $12,662 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $667 | $875,489834 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $512 | $219,997218 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Wegovy | $42 | $179,202164 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $873 | $144,576108 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $574 | $140,516125 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $1,425 | $111,66491 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $2,938 | $96,40875 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $111 | $43,95943 claims |
| AmgenCorlanor | $1,617 | $18,21322 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 80th percentile of 257 cardiovascular disease providers in South Carolina.
Other cardiovascular disease in Greenville
- Gregory SanGreenville$88K
- David McNeelyGreenville$78K
- Christopher SalmonGreenville$54K
- Arthur EberlyGreenville$34K
- Tara HolderGreenville$20K
- Dev VazGreenville$14K
- Jon BittrickGreenville$13K
- Harold BlanksGreenville$9K
- Arthur SiachosGreenville$9K
- Robert BiedermanCharleston$775K
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.