Lauren Diaferio, OD
Optometrist · West Hartford, CTNPI 1285257410
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.9% of the total across 244 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 17 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 19.6% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,891, more than ten times the $181 reported in 2020. Among optometrist clinicians in CT 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 244 payments — averaging $26.34 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$1K
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$1K
- Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.$657
- Novartis$604
- Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.$444
- AbbVie$393
- plus $2K from 11 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$6,419100%
- Education$80%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 40 | $1,259 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 55 | $1,226 |
| Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. | 8 | $657 |
| Novartis | 29 | $604 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 18 | $444 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 26 | $393 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 15 | $348 |
| Alcon | 14 | $335 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 16 | $315 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 3 | $273 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 4 | $191 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 6 | $132 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 2 | $110 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $47 |
| Eyevance Pharmaceuticals LLC | 3 | $41 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $34 |
| Rxsight Inc | 1 | $18 |
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
$6,427 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 574 optometrist providers in Connecticut.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| RestasisCyclosporine | 97 | $117,481 |
| CequaCyclosporine | 60 | $61,267 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 41 | $54,080 |
| MieboPerfluorohexyloctane/Pf | 39 | $34,999 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 51 | $28,401 |
| XdemvyLotilaner | 11 | $22,507 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 36 | $14,179 |
| Cyclosporine | 27 | $12,457 |
| VyzultaLatanoprostene Bunod | 17 | $10,857 |
| SimbrinzaBrinzolamide/Brimonidine Tart | 31 | $9,530 |
| TyrvayaVarenicline Tartrate | 13 | $8,415 |
| RhopressaNetarsudil Mesylate | 20 | $8,221 |
| Travoprost | 25 | $6,096 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 32 | $4,592 |
| Latanoprost | 140 | $1,418 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieRestasis, Lumigan, Combigan | $393 | $160,061184 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Xiidra, Miebo, Vyzulta | $1,259 | $99,93697 claims |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.Cequa | $1,226 | $61,26760 claims |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Xdemvy | $348 | $22,50711 claims |
| AlconSimbrinza | $335 | $9,53031 claims |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.Tyrvaya | $444 | $8,41513 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rhopressa | $47 | $8,22120 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 574 optometrist providers in Connecticut.
Other optometrist in West Hartford
- Michael CooperWest Hartford$44K
- Susan JanikWest Hartford$20K
- Peter PegoloWest Hartford$5K
- Ashley WalchWest Hartford$4K
- Joseph ThimonsFairfield$340K
- Inna LazarOld Greenwich$147K
- Jennifer StewartNew Canaan$91K
- Maria PribisStamford$78K
- Joseph PavanoNew Britain$22K
- Donald HigginsPlainville$18K
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.