Curtis Lee, MD
Nephrology · Hilo, HINPI 1376537449
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $11,574 of the $16,570 with a category attached, or 69.9%. Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. accounts for 92.2% of it on its own, with 7 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $15,380 and has fallen 97.1% since, to $441 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in HI with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 94 payments — averaging $176.28 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.$15K
- Amarin Pharma, Inc.$389
- Ardelyx, Inc.$300
- Amgen$256
- AstraZeneca$139
- Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.$134
- plus $79 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1061%
- Speaking & faculty fees$11,57470%
- Travel & lodging$3,14319%
- Food & beverage$1,71010%
- Education$360%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 38 | $15,273 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 20 | $389 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 15 | $300 |
| Amgen | 9 | $256 |
| AstraZeneca | 9 | $139 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $134 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $59 |
| Bayer | 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.
- Critline - Monitors$12,058
How this compares
$16,570 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 57 nephrology providers in Hawaii.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 211 | $907,279 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 90 | $97,887 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 102 | $93,298 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 340 | $90,409 |
| RenvelaSevelamer Carbonate | 27 | $72,350 |
| AuryxiaFerric Citrate | 21 | $54,639 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 26 | $29,141 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 35 | $24,953 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 22 | $24,583 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 13 | $20,236 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 21 | $17,117 |
| TradjentaLinagliptin | 13 | $10,436 |
| EliquisApixaban | 16 | $9,882 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 17 | $9,302 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 12 | $8,598 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $15,273 | $907,279211 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $20 | $93,298102 claims |
| AstraZenecaLokelma | $139 | $8,59812 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 90th percentile of 57 nephrology providers in Hawaii.
Other nephrology in Hilo
- Macy MartinsonHilo$392
- Kunal ParekhHonolulu$172K
- Christie IzutsuHonolulu$50K
- Jared SugiharaHonolulu$39K
- Eugene WongHonolulu$37K
- Shiuh ChengHonolulu$21K
- Valerie TanWaipahu$15K
- Leilani Ka'aneheHonolulu$10K
- Antonette Veronica HernandezHonolulu$9K
- Rick HayashiHonolulu$5K
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.