Nels Leafblad, MD
Sports Medicine · Vadnais Heights, MNNPI 1457715955
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (53.8%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 6 manufacturers reported payments, led by Smith+Nephew at 36.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $7,522 and has fallen 99.7% since, to $24 in 2025.
Across 68 payments — averaging $202.30 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Smith+Nephew$5K
- Foundation Medical, LLC$3K
- Arthrex$3K
- Stryker$2K
- Vericel Corporation$23
- Orthofix Medical, Inc.$16
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$3,76227%
- Food & beverage$2,59419%
- Education$7,40054%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Smith+Nephew | 3 | $5,055 |
| Foundation Medical, LLC | 20 | $3,440 |
| Arthrex | 23 | $3,177 |
| Stryker | 20 | $2,045 |
| Vericel Corporation | 1 | $23 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 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.
- SALVATION$910
- ADAPT$425
- NANOTACK FLEX$154
- GAMMA$146
How this compares
$13,756 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 156 sports medicine providers in Minnesota.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Meloxicam | 42 | $172 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 45 | $150 |
| Hydroxyzine Hcl | 16 | $92 |
| Amoxicillin | 31 | $87 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 17 | $41 |
| Ondansetron OdtOndansetron | 14 | $41 |
| Hydroxyzine Pamoate | 11 | $32 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other sports medicine in Vadnais Heights
- Andrew OckulyVadnais Heights$11K
- Kirk ScofieldVadnais Heights$2K
- Steven MeisterlingVadnais Heights$2K
- Reed WilliamsVadnais Heights$988
- Robert LapradeEdina$1.1M
- Jack SkendzelWoodbury$103K
- Ryan FaderEdina$78K
- Christopher LapradeEagan$64K
- Julie DoddsFairmont$61K
- Jeremiah JohnsonEagan$54K
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.