Joel Cohen, MD
Ophthalmology · Houston, TXNPI 1700874518
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 218 payments — averaging $23.33 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- Notal Vision, Inc.$379
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$371
- Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.$301
- Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$249
- Amgen$249
- plus $2K from 20 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$3797%
- Food & beverage$4,70793%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 87 | $1,665 |
| Notal Vision, Inc. | 1 | $379 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 13 | $371 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 11 | $301 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 17 | $249 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 11 | $249 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 13 | $249 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 8 | $180 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 8 | $179 |
| Alcon | 8 | $178 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 4 | $162 |
| Novartis | 8 | $150 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 5 | $140 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $125 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 4 | $89 |
| Biogen | 3 | $65 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 2 | $49 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 2 | $46 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Akorn Operating Company LLC | 2 | $42 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $39 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 1 | $28 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Rxsight Inc | 1 | $16 |
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.
How this compares
$5,086 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 1,355 ophthalmology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LumiganBimatoprost | 468 | $230,730 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 112 | $126,748 |
| RhopressaNetarsudil Mesylate | 233 | $120,498 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 45 | $54,654 |
| VyzultaLatanoprostene Bunod | 142 | $51,118 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 115 | $48,826 |
| Cyclosporine | 77 | $44,078 |
| ProlensaBromfenac Sodium | 119 | $42,156 |
| Alphagan PBrimonidine Tartrate | 48 | $33,070 |
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 57 | $28,618 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 303 | $28,514 |
| Travoprost | 154 | $26,073 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide/Timolol/Pf | 122 | $24,882 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 504 | $21,216 |
| CequaCyclosporine | 22 | $18,684 |
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, Alphagan P, Restasis Multidose | $1,665 | $446,621754 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rhopressa, Rocklatan | $180 | $149,116290 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Xiidra, Vyzulta | $371 | $105,772187 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCProlensa, Loteprednol Etabonate | $249 | $45,281130 claims |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.Cequa, Bromsite | $249 | $21,56834 claims |
| AlconSimbrinza | $178 | $15,24239 claims |
| NovartisIlevro | $150 | $4,87413 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 70th percentile of 1,355 ophthalmology providers in Texas.
Other ophthalmology in Houston
- David BrownHouston$51.7M
- John MichelettiHouston$3.3M
- Michael CaplanHouston$1.4M
- Shaheen KavoussiHouston$1.3M
- Kevin JongHouston$1.2M
- Stephen SladeHouston$1.2M
- Rosa TangHouston$1.1M
- Zaina Al-MohtasebHouston$1.1M
- Fiaz ZamanHouston$1M
- Stephen PflugfelderHouston$788K
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.