William Yao, MD
Otolaryngology · Houston, TXNPI 1831429893
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (42.9%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 18 manufacturers reported payments, led by Optinose US, Inc. at 50.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $36,947 and has fallen 50.8% since, to $18,168 in 2025. Among otolaryngology clinicians in TX with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 319 payments — averaging $481.77 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Optinose US, Inc.$78K
- Acclarent, Inc$22K
- Aerin Medical Inc.$19K
- Sanofi$18K
- Stryker$6K
- Medtronic$5K
- plus $5K from 12 others
Across 20 payments — averaging $6292.38 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.
- Aerin Medical Inc.$90K
- Optinose US, Inc.$36K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$60,55339%
- Speaking & faculty fees$65,92543%
- Travel & lodging$13,9379%
- Food & beverage$13,2699%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Optinose US, Inc. | 138 | $78,286 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 40 | $22,115 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 30 | $18,832 |
| Sanofi | 30 | $18,219 |
| Stryker | 15 | $5,891 |
| Medtronic | 21 | $5,044 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 14 | $2,301 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 14 | $1,578 |
| Neurent Medical Limited | 3 | $427 |
| 3-d Matrix, Inc. | 1 | $399 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 2 | $142 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $135 |
| Spirair, Inc. | 1 | $119 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 4 | $107 |
| Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Amgen | 1 | $24 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $18 |
| Merck | 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.
- Xhance$76,549
- ACCLARENT Balloon Inflation Device$20,163
- VIVAER STYLUS$17,391
- FUSION$3,984
- ENTELLUS - XPRESS ENT DILATION SYSTEM$2,800
- NAV - NAV3 NAVIGATION PLATFORM$2,600
- RHINAER STYLUS$2,203
- Acclarent Aera$1,527
- INTEGRA$1,114
- Inspira Air$1,027
- PROPEL$719
- Vivaer RF Stylus$685
- RELIEVA SPINPLUS NAV$654
- SINUVA$654
- STEALTHSTATION S8 PLATFORM$430
- INTEGRA DERMAL REGENERATION TEMPLATE$371
- PRIMATRIX$371
- NEUROMARK Device$343
- TruDi Probe$277
- Relieva Spinplus$242
How this compares
$153,684 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 729 otolaryngology providers in Texas.
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 SyringeDupilumab | 19 | $69,519 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 85 | $1,912 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 115 | $1,583 |
| Azelastine Hcl | 49 | $1,216 |
| Clarithromycin | 19 | $756 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 36 | $621 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 31 | $472 |
| Methylprednisolone | 61 | $406 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 39 | $241 |
| Famotidine | 28 | $224 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 44 | $184 |
| Mupirocin | 26 | $179 |
| Clindamycin Hcl | 22 | $166 |
| Levofloxacin | 32 | $154 |
| Prednisone | 49 | $103 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Houston
- Amber LuongHouston$426K
- Arjuna KuperanHouston$348K
- Ron KarniHouston$317K
- Martin CitardiHouston$245K
- Michael KaplanHouston$202K
- Masayoshi TakashimaHouston$167K
- Andrew HuangHouston$137K
- Manish WaniHouston$100K
- Shane PahlavanHouston$95K
- Omar AhmedHouston$89K
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.