Ryan Almeida, MD
Interventional Pain Medicine · Birmingham, ALNPI 1225250335
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (57.3%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by Nevro Corp. at 52.1% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $6,378 and has fallen 71.2% since, to $1,837 in 2025.
Across 365 payments — averaging $37.03 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Nevro Corp.$7K
- Abbott$2K
- Boston Scientific$2K
- Vertiflex, Inc.$693
- Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.$315
- Medtronic$200
- plus $945 from 19 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$4,40033%
- Travel & lodging$1,36810%
- Food & beverage$7,74757%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nevro Corp. | 80 | $7,048 |
| Abbott | 104 | $2,332 |
| Boston Scientific | 116 | $1,982 |
| Vertiflex, Inc. | 2 | $693 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 17 | $315 |
| Medtronic | 3 | $200 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 11 | $193 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. | 7 | $133 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 2 | $97 |
| Forte Bio-pharma LLC | 3 | $83 |
| AbbVie | 3 | $76 |
| Vertex | 3 | $55 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 2 | $45 |
| MML US, Inc. | 1 | $37 |
| Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Globus Medical | 1 | $30 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Redhill Biopharma Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Amgen | 1 | $21 |
| Virtus Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 1 | $18 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $17 |
| Orexo US, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Neuronetics, 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.
- Senza Spinal Cord Stimulation System$5,459
- Superion ISS$693
- PROCLAIM$365
- Omnia$362
- WaveWriter Alpha Prime 16$244
- INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM$167
- Senza$144
- Proclaim IPG$142
- ARTISAN$118
- GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT$116
- Infinion 16$102
How this compares
$13,516 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 33 interventional pain medicine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RelistorMethylnaltrexone Bromide | 81 | $199,729 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 6,596 | $145,307 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 5,398 | $138,332 |
| BelbucaBuprenorphine Hcl | 132 | $120,269 |
| MovantikNaloxegol Oxalate | 135 | $55,049 |
| BelsomraSuvorexant | 103 | $45,400 |
| Buprenorphine | 174 | $45,258 |
| Xtampza ErOxycodone Myristate | 66 | $41,414 |
| Gabapentin | 3,893 | $40,575 |
| Lidocaine | 502 | $36,946 |
| Pregabalin | 1,631 | $36,836 |
| ProlateOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 14 | $35,730 |
| DayvigoLemborexant | 106 | $32,988 |
| OxycontinOxycodone Hcl | 52 | $28,395 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 41 | $23,192 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCRelistor | $193 | $199,72981 claims |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.Belbuca, Xtampza Er | $315 | $161,684198 claims |
| Redhill Biopharma Inc.Movantik | $21 | $55,049135 claims |
| Forte Bio-pharma LLCProlate | $83 | $35,73014 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $76 | $23,19241 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 33 interventional pain medicine providers in Alabama.
Other interventional pain medicine in Birmingham
- Michael KendrickBirmingham$90K
- James GillespieBirmingham$8K
- Richard ThomaBirmingham$6K
- Anna MelerineBirmingham$5K
- Audra EasonBirmingham$5K
- Kenneth VarleyBirmingham$4K
- Victor MendozaBirmingham$165
- Bradley WargoMuscle Shoals$41K
- Jacob VellaMontgomery$28K
- John IronsVestavia$22K
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.