Benjamin Lee, MD
Nephrology · Houston, TXNPI 1194091199
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $341 of the $436 with a category attached, or 78.1%. It is spread thinly across 8 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 21.9% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. That places this record below the midpoint for nephrology clinicians in TX, where the typical reported total is $1,420.
Across 15 payments — averaging $29.08 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$96
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$79
- Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$78
- Philips North America LLC$51
- Kerecis Limited$45
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$42
- plus $46 from 2 others
Across 126 payments — averaging $695.18 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.
- Akebia Therapeutics Inc$88K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$34178%
- Education$9622%
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.
How this compares
$436 in reported general payments places this provider in the 25th percentile of 1,070 nephrology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 78 | $108,337 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 78 | $87,649 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 68 | $69,700 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 33 | $34,483 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 14 | $15,889 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 60 | $2,384 |
| Potassium Chloride | 25 | $2,201 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 11 | $2,181 |
| Calcitriol | 57 | $1,043 |
| Fludrocortisone Acetate | 37 | $997 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 19 | $960 |
| Losartan Potassium | 75 | $832 |
| Furosemide | 67 | $583 |
| Prednisone | 50 | $503 |
| Torsemide | 18 | $447 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other nephrology in Houston
- Sreedhar MandayamHouston$752K
- Christopher KwohHouston$467K
- Wolfgang WinkelmayerHouston$462K
- Namrata GoelHouston$426K
- Dana MitchellHouston$344K
- Ramachandra MalyaHouston$312K
- John ForingerHouston$215K
- Biruh WorkenehHouston$185K
- Horacio AdrogueHouston$122K
- Anand SaranathanHouston$109K
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.