Walter Brandner, MD
Adult Medicine · Birmingham, ALNPI 1932115763
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.7% of the total across 647 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 37 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $2,139 and has fallen 96.0% since, to $86 in 2025. Among adult medicine clinicians in AL with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 647 payments — averaging $14.66 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$2K
- AbbVie$1K
- Lilly USA, LLC$764
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$744
- GSK$712
- AstraZeneca$611
- plus $4K from 31 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$9,36099%
- Education$1261%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 103 | $1,611 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 123 | $1,190 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 53 | $764 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 53 | $744 |
| GSK | 44 | $712 |
| AstraZeneca | 41 | $611 |
| Pfizer | 37 | $546 |
| Abbott | 22 | $346 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 20 | $336 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 16 | $264 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 14 | $257 |
| Merck | 15 | $224 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 8 | $205 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 11 | $182 |
| Eisai Inc. | 10 | $155 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 9 | $143 |
| Novartis | 7 | $137 |
| Bayer | 8 | $135 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 6 | $111 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 5 | $102 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 5 | $93 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 6 | $88 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 4 | $74 |
| Boston Scientific | 4 | $61 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 4 | $55 |
| Exact Sciences | 3 | $52 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 2 | $40 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 2 | $34 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 2 | $33 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Biogen | 1 | $24 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $24 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $20 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 1 | $16 |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $15 |
How this compares
$9,486 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 26 adult 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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 200 | $212,584 |
| EliquisApixaban | 102 | $94,092 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 45 | $32,536 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-200Insulin Degludec | 28 | $29,666 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 32 | $27,922 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 26 | $27,572 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 27 | $21,594 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 22 | $19,034 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 21 | $15,006 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 15 | $11,190 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 430 | $8,420 |
| Pregabalin | 160 | $5,522 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 286 | $5,058 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 378 | $4,961 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 329 | $3,947 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $1,611 | $212,584200 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $546 | $94,092102 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $712 | $32,53645 claims |
| MerckJanuvia | $224 | $27,92232 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $764 | $27,57226 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $135 | $21,59427 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $205 | $19,03422 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $264 | $11,19015 claims |
| AbbVieSynthroid | $1,190 | $1,34932 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 90th percentile of 26 adult medicine providers in Alabama.
Other adult medicine in Birmingham
- Anthony ChestangBirmingham$5K
- Ayofemi WardBirmingham$24
- Eyston HunteMobile$139K
- Delano BenjaminForestdale$10K
- Jeremy LedfordOpelika$9K
- Eric BeckerMobile$7K
- William SargeantMontgomery$6K
- Jeremy AllenPell City$4K
- Adeel BodlaMadison$4K
- Yu-Yong Eugene TaiJasper$2K
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.