William Blythe, MD
Otolaryngology · Opelika, ALNPI 1851321053
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (53.6%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. accounts for 73.5% of it on its own, with 20 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $10,031 and has fallen 86.1% since, to $1,397 in 2025. Among otolaryngology 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 144 payments — averaging $131.26 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.$14K
- Cochlear Americas$2K
- Sanofi$451
- GSK$375
- Advanced Bionics, LLC$303
- Neurent Medical Limited$300
- plus $1K from 15 others
Across 27 payments — averaging $4168.69 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.
- Neurent Medical Limited$87K
- Aerin Medical Inc.$26K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$10,12554%
- Travel & lodging$1,6089%
- Food & beverage$7,16838%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 48 | $13,894 |
| Cochlear Americas | 11 | $2,342 |
| Sanofi | 13 | $451 |
| GSK | 21 | $375 |
| Advanced Bionics, LLC | 4 | $303 |
| Neurent Medical Limited | 4 | $300 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 6 | $273 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 10 | $231 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $145 |
| Stryker | 6 | $118 |
| Med-el Corporation | 2 | $104 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 2 | $83 |
| KARL Storz Endoscopy-america | 4 | $63 |
| Alk-abello, Inc | 2 | $46 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $23 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $19 |
| Olympus America 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.
- Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation System$11,148
- Nucleus$1,981
- Baha$1,981
- Inspire$1,347
- DUPIXENT$249
- VIVAER STYLUS$181
- RHINAER STYLUS$181
- NEUROMARK Device$131
- NEUROMARK Radiofrequency Console$131
- VOQUEZNA$123
How this compares
$18,901 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 155 otolaryngology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dupixent PenDupilumab | 13 | $48,077 |
| Azelastine Hcl | 170 | $5,534 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 191 | $2,931 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 157 | $2,125 |
| Fluocinolone Acetonide Oil | 38 | $2,048 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 129 | $1,603 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 38 | $1,467 |
| Ofloxacin | 32 | $1,284 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 56 | $1,257 |
| Levocetirizine Dihydrochloride | 103 | $1,220 |
| Mupirocin | 107 | $892 |
| Prednisolone | 20 | $803 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 74 | $678 |
| Azithromycin | 30 | $322 |
| Cephalexin | 38 | $290 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Opelika
- Wesley WhatleyOpelika$4K
- John DavisHoover$251K
- William McFeelyHuntsville$70K
- Michael SillersBirmingham$53K
- Justin TurnerBirmingham$34K
- Bradford WoodworthBirmingham$27K
- Patrick OwensBirmingham$26K
- Kirk WithrowBirmingham$22K
- Do-Yeon ChoBirmingham$19K
- Andrew FusonBirmingham$18K
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.