Kristin Highland, MD
Pulmonary Disease · Cleveland, OHNPI 1740384528
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $357,797 of the $550,558 with a category attached, or 65.0%. 15 manufacturers reported payments, led by United Therapeutics Corporation at 38.5% of the total. Among pulmonary disease clinicians in OH 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 655 payments — averaging $840.55 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- United Therapeutics Corporation$212K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$138K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$78K
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$76K
- Merck$21K
- Bayer$10K
- plus $15K from 9 others
Across 109 payments — averaging $24,579 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.
- Merck$2.1M
- Boehringer Ingelheim$401K
- Amgen$189K
- United Therapeutics Corporation$23K
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.kg$10K
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$2K
- plus $1K from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$120,04022%
- Speaking & faculty fees$357,79765%
- Travel & lodging$59,30611%
- Food & beverage$13,3662%
- Education$490%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 286 | $212,114 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 142 | $137,893 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 68 | $78,325 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH | 87 | $75,731 |
| Merck | 33 | $21,368 |
| Bayer | 10 | $9,720 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico SA De CV | 12 | $8,837 |
| Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. | 3 | $1,800 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd.ltee | 6 | $1,665 |
| Orphai Therapeutics Inc. | 1 | $1,500 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.kg | 1 | $851 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $564 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $93 |
| Gilead | 2 | $60 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 1 | $37 |
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
$550,558 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 571 pulmonary disease providers in Ohio.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tyvaso DpiTreprostinil | 133 | $3,160,899 |
| OpsumitMacitentan | 154 | $1,942,485 |
| OfevNintedanib Esylate | 77 | $1,028,917 |
| UptraviSelexipag | 36 | $818,474 |
| Orenitram ErTreprostinil Diolamine | 36 | $581,139 |
| AdempasRiociguat | 39 | $533,558 |
| WinrevairSotatercept-Csrk | 26 | $472,136 |
| LetairisAmbrisentan | 21 | $260,514 |
| Ambrisentan | 68 | $231,393 |
| TreprostinilTreprostinil Sodium | 13 | $193,068 |
| EsbrietPirfenidone | 13 | $139,375 |
| Tadalafil | 90 | $97,223 |
| AdcircaTadalafil | 20 | $83,784 |
| Bosentan | 31 | $62,730 |
| Sildenafil Citrate | 125 | $60,729 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.Opsumit, Uptravi, Bosentan | $137,893 | $2,823,688221 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimOfev | $78,325 | $1,028,91777 claims |
| BayerAdempas | $9,720 | $533,55839 claims |
| MerckWinrevair, Dulera | $21,368 | $479,34539 claims |
| GileadLetairis | $60 | $260,51421 claims |
| Genentech USA, Inc.Esbriet | $564 | $139,37513 claims |
| United Therapeutics CorporationAdcirca | $212,114 | $83,78420 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 95th percentile of 571 pulmonary disease providers in Ohio.
Other pulmonary disease in Cleveland
- Joseph CiceniaCleveland$350K
- Michael MachuzakCleveland$286K
- Marie BudevCleveland$159K
- Leslie TolleCleveland$136K
- Elliott DasenbrookCleveland$114K
- James StollerCleveland$101K
- Gustavo Heresi DavilaCleveland$98K
- Bryan BennCleveland$96K
- Thomas GildeaCleveland$69K
- Daniel CulverCleveland$68K
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.