Carter Gussler, MD
Ophthalmology · Ashland, KYNPI 1215905393
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (58.7%), gifts and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 23 manufacturers reported payments, led by Alcon at 38.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $3,309 and has fallen 90.0% since, to $330 in 2025.
Across 134 payments — averaging $53.49 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Alcon$3K
- Microsurgical Technology, Inc.$2K
- NEW World Medical,inc.$639
- AbbVie$319
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$254
- Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$119
- plus $805 from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$3004%
- Travel & lodging$3905%
- Food & beverage$4,20759%
- Gifts$2,26932%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Alcon | 64 | $2,781 |
| Microsurgical Technology, Inc. | 1 | $2,250 |
| NEW World Medical,inc. | 4 | $639 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 16 | $319 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 8 | $254 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 4 | $119 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | 1 | $98 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $90 |
| Omeros Corporation | 5 | $81 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 6 | $81 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 3 | $68 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 2 | $57 |
| Novartis | 3 | $49 |
| Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. | 3 | $46 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 2 | $39 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Eyepoint US, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Rxsight Inc | 1 | $22 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | 1 | $19 |
| Vyera Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $16 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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.
- Ahmed Glaucoma Valve$563
- Kahook Dual Blade$563
- LenSx$524
- Clareon$350
- AcrySof IQ PanOptix$270
- ARGOS$150
- AcrySof IQ VIVITY IOL$140
- PanOptix$125
- CEQUA$125
- ReSTOR$111
- Unity$109
How this compares
$7,167 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 216 ophthalmology providers in Kentucky.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LumiganBimatoprost | 14 | $10,035 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 11 | $7,264 |
| ValacyclovirValacyclovir Hcl | 14 | $5,432 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 14 | $4,548 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 40 | $1,969 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 23 | $1,804 |
| Latanoprost | 214 | $1,486 |
| Timolol Maleate | 70 | $527 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 45 | $419 |
| ErythromycinErythromycin Base | 11 | $141 |
| Dorzolamide Hcl | 19 | $52 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 12 | $45 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieLumigan, Restasis, Combigan | $319 | $21,84739 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 85th percentile of 216 ophthalmology providers in Kentucky.
Other ophthalmology in Ashland
- John GrossAshland$7K
- Joshua GrossAshland$5K
- Edward HollandEdgewood$678K
- Gary WortzLexington$159K
- Jeremy ClarkLouisville$131K
- Bruce KofflerLexington$49K
- Guruprasad PattarLouisville$36K
- Jeffery TaylorPaducah$18K
- Asim PirachaLexington$17K
- Gary FoulksLouisville$16K
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.