William Ares, MD
Neurological Surgery · Evanston, ILNPI 1396039442
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (42.2%), travel and lodging and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 12 manufacturers reported payments, led by Penumbra, Inc. at 42.3% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $25,451, more than ten times the $477 reported in 2019.
Across 134 payments — averaging $592.66 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Penumbra, Inc.$34K
- Medtronic$18K
- Scientia Vascular$16K
- Stryker$11K
- Microvention, Inc.$356
- Balt USA, LLC$271
- plus $693 from 6 others
Across 16 payments — averaging $2569.03 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.
- Medtronic$41K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$12,28515%
- Speaking & faculty fees$33,47542%
- Travel & lodging$27,00934%
- Food & beverage$6,6488%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Penumbra, Inc. | 48 | $33,625 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 34 | $17,873 |
| Scientia Vascular | 11 | $16,055 |
| Stryker | 25 | $10,545 |
| Microvention, Inc. | 5 | $356 |
| Balt USA, LLC | 1 | $271 |
| Contego Medical, Inc | 2 | $217 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $151 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 1 | $122 |
| Abbott | 1 | $89 |
| BTG International Inc. | 1 | $67 |
| Imperative Care, Inc | 1 | $46 |
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.
- Penumbra System$24,499
- Pipeline$15,719
- Smart Coil$6,142
- SURPASS EVOLVE$5,449
- TARGET$5,298
- TGS$2,747
- RED 72$1,280
- Socrates 38$971
- Colossus$791
- SOLITAIRE X$727
- Benchmark$600
- Optima Coil System$541
- Aristotle Guidewire$293
- TUBING KIT - STROKE$271
- WEB Aneurysm Embolization System$271
- AVIGOTM$175
- SOFIA 6F-131CM STR$169
- Solitaire$162
- RIST$154
- Penumbra Coil 400$128
How this compares
$79,417 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 302 neurological surgery providers in Illinois.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 21 | $177 |
| Methylprednisolone | 30 | $176 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 11 | $142 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 15 | $110 |
| Gabapentin | 18 | $108 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 12 | $61 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Evanston
- Julian BailesEvanston$666K
- Michael MusacchioEvanston$274K
- Tyler KoskiChicago$2.3M
- Vincent TraynelisChicago$1.8M
- Sergey NeckryshChicago$1.6M
- Russell NockelsArlington Heights$1.4M
- Bruce FrankelSpringfield$1.3M
- Richard FesslerChicago$910K
- John OtooleChicago$593K
- Patrick SugruePark Ridge$571K
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.