James Chelnis, MD
Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery · New York, NYNPI 1952612913
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $149,504 of the $222,593 with a category attached, or 67.2%. Lumenis BE Inc accounts for 66.7% of it on its own, with 11 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $70,553 and has fallen 66.6% since, to $23,598 in 2025. Among ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery clinicians in NY with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 234 payments — averaging $951.25 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Lumenis BE Inc$149K
- Amgen$57K
- Merz North America, Inc.$5K
- Lumenis, Inc$5K
- AbbVie$5K
- ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$354
- plus $725 from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$4,7402%
- Speaking & faculty fees$149,50467%
- Travel & lodging$2,8731%
- Food & beverage$65,25729%
- Education$2000%
- Gifts$190%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lumenis BE Inc | 5 | $148,578 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 96 | $56,941 |
| Merz North America, Inc. | 18 | $5,424 |
| Lumenis, Inc | 5 | $5,350 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 90 | $5,222 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $354 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 8 | $298 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $125 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 1 | $120 |
| Almirall LLC | 1 | $106 |
| Galderma Laboratories, L.p. | 3 | $57 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | 1 | $19 |
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.
- M22$110,751
- TEPEZZA$55,460
- optilight$37,826
- XEOMIN$3,975
- Lumenis Pulse 120H$3,350
- BOTOX$842
- BOTOX COSMETIC$210
- PURIFIED CORTROPHIN GEL$136
- ACTHAR$125
- CEQUA$120
How this compares
$222,593 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 25 ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery providers in New York.
See all ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery providers in New York →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bacitracin-PolymyxinBacitracin/Polymyxin B Sulfate | 40 | $433 |
| Tranexamic Acid | 20 | $373 |
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-DexamethNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Dexametha | 33 | $350 |
| Alprazolam | 20 | $10 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery in New York
- Gary Lelli JrNew York$263K
- Kira SegalNew York$12K
- Anna GinterNew York$2K
- Elizabeth MaherNew York$2K
- Payal PatelNew York$1K
- Kyle GodfreyNew York$824
- Kevin HeinzeNew York$477
- David FreilichNew York$263
- Brett KotlusNew York$194
- I Rand RodgersNew York$45
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.