Brett Budden, MD
Retina Specialist · Metairie, LANPI 1164797411
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $3,600 of the $5,991 with a category attached, or 60.1%. Alimera Sciences, Inc. accounts for 77.9% of it on its own, with 13 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $3,256 and has fallen 95.1% since, to $161 in 2025.
Across 58 payments — averaging $103.30 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Alimera Sciences, Inc.$5K
- AbbVie$327
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$203
- Genentech USA, Inc.$152
- Alcon$138
- Novartis$135
- plus $367 from 8 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$3,60060%
- Food & beverage$2,39140%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Alimera Sciences, Inc. | 20 | $4,669 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 10 | $327 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 5 | $203 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $152 |
| Alcon | 1 | $138 |
| Novartis | 2 | $135 |
| Biogen | 5 | $116 |
| Vyera Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 3 | $46 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 2 | $45 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 2 | $35 |
| Eyepoint US, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $22 |
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.
- Iluvien$4,483
- Clareon PanOptix Pro$138
- VABYSMO$133
- EYLEA$125
- VUITY$100
How this compares
$5,991 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 30 retina specialist providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 25 | $5,717 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 134 | $4,659 |
| SimbrinzaBrinzolamide/Brimonidine Tart | 13 | $2,651 |
| MoxifloxacinMoxifloxacin Hcl | 48 | $935 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 15 | $374 |
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-DexamethNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Dexametha | 15 | $174 |
| Latanoprost | 21 | $163 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 20 | $151 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieCombigan | $327 | $5,71725 claims |
| AlconSimbrinza | $138 | $2,65113 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 75th percentile of 30 retina specialist providers in Louisiana.
Other retina specialist in Metairie
- Gwen CousinsMetairie$10K
- Arley Jaramillo RodriguezMetairie$6K
- Neil NotarobertoMetairie$4K
- Mallika DossMetairie$3K
- Kathy TaMetairie$3K
- Stanislav ZhukMetairie$2K
- Waldemar TorresMetairie$1K
- Jasmine ElisonMetairie$1K
- Ronald WillsonMetairie$1K
- John SaerMetairie$595
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.