Benjamin Ernst, MD
Retina Specialist · Appleton, WINPI 1518162247
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by ownership interests: $2,601 of the $2,721 with a category attached, or 95.6%. US Retina LLC accounts for 95.6% of it on its own, with 5 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $1,195 and has fallen 96.3% since, to $44 in 2025.
Across 12 payments — averaging $226.75 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- US Retina LLC$3K
- GSK$45
- Boehringer Ingelheim$23
- Novartis$22
- Eyepoint US, Inc.$16
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$15
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1064%
- Education$151%
- Ownership interest$2,60196%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| US Retina LLC | 6 | $2,601 |
| GSK | 2 | $45 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $23 |
| Novartis | 1 | $22 |
| Eyepoint US, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
How this compares
$2,721 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 24 retina specialist providers in Wisconsin.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prednisolone Acetate | 39 | $2,256 |
| Ketorolac Tromethamine | 22 | $684 |
| Timolol Maleate | 13 | $187 |
| Latanoprost | 13 | $74 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other retina specialist in Appleton
- Anthony ParendoAppleton$1K
- Michael PossinAppleton$80
- Jennifer AdeghateMilwaukee$52K
- Lincoln ShawMilwaukee$14K
- Rajeev BuddiNeenah$8K
- John RosculetNeenah$8K
- Clinton WarrenKenosha$5K
- Nicholas TosiMilwaukee$5K
- Wei Chuan WangGreen Bay$3K
- Charles HejnyNeenah$3K
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.