Joshua Espelund, MD
Otolaryngology · Spencer, IANPI 1225158819
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by travel and lodging: $1,008 of the $1,527 with a category attached, or 66.1%. Stryker accounts for 76.3% of it on its own, with 7 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $1,374 and has fallen 95.9% since, to $56 in 2025.
Across 21 payments — averaging $72.69 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$1K
- Optinose US, Inc.$99
- Sanofi$93
- Aerin Medical Inc.$77
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$50
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$17
- plus $27 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,00866%
- Food & beverage$51834%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker | 7 | $1,165 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 5 | $99 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $93 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 3 | $77 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $50 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Kaleo, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 1 | $13 |
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.
- SCOPIS ENT$834
- LATERA$174
- XPRESS ENT DILATION SYSTEM$107
How this compares
$1,527 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 103 otolaryngology providers in Iowa.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Budesonide | 12 | $2,034 |
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-HcNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Hydrocort | 25 | $1,504 |
| Tobramycin-DexamethasoneTobramycin/Dexamethasone | 14 | $990 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 50 | $915 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 23 | $498 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 39 | $472 |
| Gabapentin | 37 | $448 |
| Omeprazole | 105 | $422 |
| Cefdinir | 14 | $339 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 16 | $214 |
| Mupirocin | 16 | $209 |
| Levofloxacin | 19 | $151 |
| Prednisone | 41 | $141 |
| Clindamycin Hcl | 11 | $129 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 28 | $92 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Spencer
- Thomas HeinemanCedar Rapids$373K
- Bruce GantzIowa City$170K
- Nancy BaumanIowa City$31K
- Simon WrightWest Des Moines$21K
- Robert PettisOskaloosa$10K
- Brian AndrewsIowa City$9K
- Douglas HoisingtonWest Des Moines$8K
- Joseph WhitmanGrinnell$7K
- Douglas BennionIowa City$6K
- Timothy SimplotWest Des Moines$6K
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.