Benjamin Bert, MD
Ophthalmology · Fountain Valley, CANPI 1518129964
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 113 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 18 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 18.3% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $731, 2.7 times the $273 reported in 2019.
Across 113 payments — averaging $23.66 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$491
- Alcon$480
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$364
- Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC$285
- Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$195
- Harrow Eye, LLC$175
- plus $683 from 12 others
Across 10 payments — averaging $12,559 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.
- Novartis$92K
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$23K
- Regeneron$10K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,673100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 17 | $491 |
| Alcon | 19 | $480 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 18 | $364 |
| Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 10 | $285 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 10 | $195 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 8 | $175 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 7 | $165 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 5 | $96 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $79 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 3 | $67 |
| Eyevance Pharmaceuticals LLC | 3 | $63 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 2 | $48 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 2 | $46 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited | 1 | $26 |
| Novartis | 1 | $24 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $24 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
How this compares
$2,673 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 2,513 ophthalmology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| RestasisCyclosporine | 118 | $94,038 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 78 | $77,392 |
| MieboPerfluorohexyloctane/Pf | 76 | $66,528 |
| Cyclosporine | 65 | $25,285 |
| CequaCyclosporine | 28 | $18,813 |
| TyrvayaVarenicline Tartrate | 23 | $18,526 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 484 | $16,571 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 36 | $15,002 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 14 | $8,981 |
| MoxifloxacinMoxifloxacin Hcl | 365 | $7,701 |
| Loteprednol Etabonate | 36 | $4,950 |
| Ketorolac Tromethamine | 263 | $3,791 |
| SimbrinzaBrinzolamide/Brimonidine Tart | 12 | $3,452 |
| ValacyclovirValacyclovir Hcl | 39 | $2,992 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 41 | $2,889 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Xiidra, Miebo | $364 | $143,920154 claims |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.Cequa | $491 | $18,81328 claims |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.Tyrvaya | $165 | $18,52623 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCLoteprednol Etabonate | $195 | $4,95036 claims |
| AlconSimbrinza | $480 | $3,45212 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 65th percentile of 2,513 ophthalmology providers in California.
Other ophthalmology in Fountain Valley
- Brian FrancisFountain Valley$247K
- Daniel SchwartzSan Francisco$8M
- Michael BerlinWest Hollywood$5.7M
- Gilbert KlimanMenlo Park$1.5M
- Kuldev SinghStanford$1.5M
- Raymond DouglasBeverly Hills$1.3M
- John AffeldtLoma Linda$1.1M
- Srinivas SaddaPasadena$1M
- Sheri RowenNewport Beach$1M
- Savak TeymoorianLaguna Hills$955K
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.