Kurt Steele, OD
Optometrist · Newport, TNNPI 1366420267
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (53.0%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Coopervision Inc. accounts for 74.3% of it on its own, with 19 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $66,052 and has fallen 98.0% since, to $1,315 in 2025. Among optometrist clinicians in TN 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 311 payments — averaging $289.53 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Coopervision Inc.$67K
- Maculogix, Inc.$16K
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$2K
- Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.$2K
- Alcon$841
- AbbVie$566
- plus $2K from 14 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$4,2005%
- Speaking & faculty fees$47,70053%
- Travel & lodging$26,36429%
- Food & beverage$11,63513%
- Education$70%
- Entertainment$1370%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Coopervision Inc. | 138 | $66,947 |
| Maculogix, Inc. | 21 | $15,906 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 21 | $1,691 |
| Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. | 20 | $1,619 |
| Alcon | 40 | $841 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 12 | $566 |
| LKC Technologies, Inc. | 8 | $522 |
| Optovue, Inc. | 4 | $316 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 14 | $288 |
| Topcon Healthcare, Inc. | 2 | $223 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 7 | $209 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 4 | $208 |
| Optos, Inc. | 3 | $156 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 4 | $152 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 5 | $85 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 3 | $82 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 2 | $82 |
| Amgen | 1 | $80 |
| Lombart Brothers, Inc. | 1 | $50 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 1 | $24 |
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.
- Multiple Brands Contact Lens$44,766
- AdaptDx$15,472
- Clariti Contact Lens$15,009
- MyDay Contact Lens$4,284
- Acuvue$1,234
- VYZULTA$230
- TOTAL30$133
- INFUSE$129
- VUITY$122
- LOTEMAX$121
- TearCare SmartLid$120
- TEARCARE(TM) (2.2) SYSTEM KIT$120
- LOTEMAX SM$109
How this compares
$90,044 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,122 optometrist providers in Tennessee.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyzultaLatanoprostene Bunod | 34 | $15,610 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 16 | $9,673 |
| MieboPerfluorohexyloctane/Pf | 11 | $8,430 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 15 | $5,736 |
| Loteprednol Etabonate | 30 | $3,288 |
| Bimatoprost | 12 | $1,054 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 28 | $910 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 32 | $798 |
| Latanoprost | 67 | $742 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 11 | $295 |
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-DexamethNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Dexametha | 11 | $178 |
| Azithromycin | 11 | $102 |
| Timolol Maleate | 11 | $71 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Vyzulta, Miebo | $1,691 | $24,04045 claims |
| AbbVieLumigan, Combigan | $566 | $15,40931 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCLoteprednol Etabonate | $208 | $3,28830 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 1,122 optometrist providers in Tennessee.
Other optometrist in Newport
- Christopher LievensMemphis$566K
- Whitney HauserMemphis$330K
- Torrey CarlsonKingsport$192K
- Frances BynumMartin$162K
- Melvin FriedmanMemphis$108K
- Jennifer DrakeColumbia$84K
- Travis JohnsonMurfreesboro$71K
- Courtney CapeDyersburg$51K
- Desirae BrinkleyMemphis$51K
- Jeffrey SonsinoNashville$48K
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.