Benjamin Cilento, MD
Otolaryngology · Spring, TXNPI 1376525527
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 91.8% of the total across 406 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 28 manufacturers reported payments, led by Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. at 59.2% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $5,613, 3.7 times the $1,497 reported in 2019. Among otolaryngology clinicians in TX 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 406 payments — averaging $40.80 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.$10K
- Stryker$2K
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$1K
- Sanofi$719
- Medtronic$493
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$455
- plus $2K from 22 others
Across 3 payments — averaging $315,513 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.
- Vertex$947K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,2728%
- Food & beverage$15,21492%
- Education$560%
- Gifts$240%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 241 | $9,810 |
| Stryker | 61 | $2,391 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 13 | $1,141 |
| Sanofi | 19 | $719 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 7 | $493 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 16 | $455 |
| GSK | 15 | $328 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $169 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 3 | $169 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $138 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 5 | $98 |
| Merz North America, Inc. | 1 | $95 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 2 | $85 |
| Hologic Sales And Service, LLC | 1 | $65 |
| Medinc Of Texas | 1 | $53 |
| Alk-abello, Inc | 3 | $42 |
| Sanofi US Services Inc. | 1 | $38 |
| Merck | 2 | $37 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Neurent Medical Limited | 1 | $28 |
| Checkpoint Surgical, Inc | 1 | $27 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $26 |
| ZOLL Respicardia, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Phadia US Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Kaleo, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Ambu Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Community Blood Center | 1 | $14 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 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.
- Inspire$3,205
- Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation System$2,412
- ENTELLUS - XPRESS ENT DILATION SYSTEM$422
- VenSure$392
- PROPEL$278
- V-LOC 180$175
- VenSure Balloon Dilation System$148
- BOTOX$147
- SINUVA$145
- SPIROX - LATERA$123
- SCOPIS ENT$122
- VOQUEZNA$117
- Navigation CUBE$107
- LATERA$100
How this compares
$16,566 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Montelukast Sodium | 187 | $1,938 |
| Cefdinir | 32 | $692 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 91 | $459 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 24 | $276 |
| Methylprednisolone | 36 | $222 |
| Clindamycin Hcl | 16 | $208 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 11 | $199 |
| Azithromycin | 17 | $69 |
| Tranexamic Acid | 13 | $57 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 12 | $19 |
| Diazepam | 14 | $19 |
| Clonidine Hcl | 11 | $14 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Spring
- Marc DeanFort Worth$486K
- Amber LuongHouston$426K
- Arjuna KuperanHouston$348K
- Ronald KuppersmithCollege Station$325K
- Ron KarniHouston$317K
- Philip ChenSan Antonio$305K
- Jordan RihaniSouthlake$280K
- Keith MathenyFrisco$269K
- Martin CitardiHouston$245K
- James AtkinsSan Antonio$205K
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.