Esther Cheung Phillips, MD
Otolaryngology · Austin, TXNPI 1235355637
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 171 payments — averaging $78.26 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$7K
- Smith+Nephew$2K
- Aerin Medical Inc.$1K
- Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.$759
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$654
- Optinose US, Inc.$453
- plus $2K from 19 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,2159%
- Speaking & faculty fees$6,25047%
- Food & beverage$5,91844%
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) | 14 | $6,976 |
| Smith+Nephew | 16 | $1,693 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 23 | $1,024 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 12 | $759 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 25 | $654 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 23 | $453 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 9 | $356 |
| Sanofi | 8 | $288 |
| GSK | 9 | $275 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $149 |
| Stryker | 5 | $143 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 1 | $96 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 2 | $75 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 5 | $74 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $65 |
| Agiliti Surgical, Inc. | 1 | $60 |
| AstraZeneca | 2 | $56 |
| Alk-abello, Inc | 2 | $44 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $40 |
| Neurent Medical Limited | 1 | $26 |
| Preceptis Medical, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Resmed Corp | 1 | $17 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 1 | $15 |
| Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| BD | 1 | $11 |
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.
- NUVENT$2,764
- PROPEL$2,500
- NIM-RESPONSE$1,250
- Coblation - Sinus Wands$540
- WEREWOLF$405
- Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation System$391
- VIVAER STYLUS$288
- RHINAER STYLUS$288
- TruDi Nav Cable$154
- Acclarent Aera$154
- Inspire$147
- Halo$133
- TULA$133
- DUPIXENT$122
- NUCALA$116
- LINX Reflux Management System$116
How this compares
$13,383 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 729 otolaryngology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| XhanceFluticasone Propionate | 12 | $11,810 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 65 | $1,930 |
| Fluocinolone Acetonide Oil | 22 | $850 |
| Azelastine Hcl | 44 | $848 |
| Cefdinir | 31 | $836 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 57 | $725 |
| Ofloxacin | 26 | $562 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 46 | $551 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 23 | $248 |
| Mupirocin | 28 | $216 |
| Amitriptyline Hcl | 41 | $152 |
| Methylprednisolone | 27 | $152 |
| Ciprofloxacin Hcl | 21 | $148 |
| Cephalexin | 26 | $101 |
| Famotidine | 14 | $96 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Optinose US, Inc.Xhance | $453 | $11,81012 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 729 otolaryngology providers in Texas.
Other otolaryngology in Austin
- Laurence ChuAustin$37.4M
- Mark ZafereoHouston$7.8M
- Neil GrossHouston$1.5M
- Chad McDuffieFrisco$1.5M
- Ian AlexanderBoerne$999K
- Stephen LaiHouston$968K
- Benjamin CilentoSpring$963K
- Amber LuongHouston$793K
- Jeffrey RosenbloomSan Antonio$720K
- Masayoshi TakashimaHouston$644K
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.