Cheong Lee, MD
Vascular Surgery · Skokie, ILNPI 1699851915
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (56.6%), food and beverage and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 22 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 60.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $10,510 and has fallen 82.9% since, to $1,799 in 2025.
Across 150 payments — averaging $129.29 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$12K
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$3K
- Cook Incorporated$1K
- Cook Medical LLC$835
- Endologix LLC$468
- BD$399
- plus $2K from 16 others
Across 4 payments — averaging $2319.37 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.
- Endologix LLC$9K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$9005%
- Travel & lodging$10,98457%
- Food & beverage$7,51039%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 52 | $11,628 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 44 | $3,354 |
| Cook Incorporated | 2 | $1,082 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 18 | $835 |
| Endologix LLC | 6 | $468 |
| BD | 2 | $399 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 2 | $276 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 3 | $220 |
| Abbott | 3 | $160 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $150 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $130 |
| Viz.ai, Inc. | 1 | $121 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $110 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 1 | $105 |
| Novartis | 3 | $90 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 3 | $72 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $68 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $38 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $25 |
| Polynovo North America LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Stryker | 1 | $20 |
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.
- HawkOne$8,950
- Zilver PTX$1,188
- ENDURANT IIS$1,069
- GORE TAG Conformable Thoracic Endoprosthesis$718
- GORE EXCLUDER Thoracoabdominal Branch Endoprosthesis$472
- GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$469
- RotarexS 6 F x 135 cm$399
- AFX$377
- Ovation$377
- Conformable TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$349
- Endurant$297
- TurboHawk$293
- GORE TAG Conformable Thoracic Stent Graft$241
- Zenith Spiral-Z$190
- Indigo System$140
- Indigo$136
- Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter$130
- XARELTO$123
- Viz.AI LVO$121
- IN.PACT Admiral$112
How this compares
$19,394 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 170 vascular surgery providers in Illinois.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 23 | $23,367 |
| EliquisApixaban | 16 | $18,785 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 73 | $781 |
| Cilostazol | 29 | $528 |
| Gabapentin | 26 | $322 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 23 | $206 |
| Celecoxib | 22 | $201 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 13 | $167 |
| Baclofen | 11 | $74 |
| Meloxicam | 22 | $70 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $150 | $23,36723 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 80th percentile of 170 vascular surgery providers in Illinois.
Other vascular surgery in Skokie
- William YoonSkokie$54K
- Rym El KhourySkokie$9K
- Maunil BhattSkokie$9K
- Ross MilnerChicago$1.3M
- Sapan DesaiArlington Heights$1.2M
- Nabeel RanaPeoria$934K
- Atif BaqaiPark Ridge$567K
- Trissa BabrowskiChicago$292K
- Tejas ShahDowners Grove$213K
- Carlos BecharaMaywood$199K
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.