John Howard, MD
Surgical Oncology · Mobile, ALNPI 1952515736
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (44.7%), consulting fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Merck accounts for 88.5% of it on its own, with 45 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $17,969 and has fallen 97.0% since, to $538 in 2025. Among surgical oncology 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 121 payments — averaging $163.64 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$18K
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$329
- Eisai Inc.$226
- Johnson & Johnson$165
- Incyte Corporation$136
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$109
- plus $1K from 40 others
Across 15 payments — averaging $55,633 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.
- Merck$834K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$8,54043%
- Travel & lodging$8,85945%
- Food & beverage$2,38412%
- Education$170%
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.
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
$19,800 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 26 surgical oncology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gabapentin | 13 | $132 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other surgical oncology in Mobile
- Joe LilesMobile$4K
- Udai SibiaMobile$3K
- Natalie BathMobile$2K
- Mercy JimenezMobile$2K
- Martin HeslinMobile$1K
- Lee ThompsonMobile$1K
- Rachel HunterMobile$910
- Jillian McCabeMobile$817
- Sophie DreamBirmingham$39K
- Annabelle FonsecaBirmingham$10K
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.