Lee Zimmer, MD
Otolaryngology · Cincinnati, OHNPI 1871537720
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by travel and lodging: $3,431 of the $5,199 with a category attached, or 66.0%. Stryker accounts for 76.5% of it on its own, with 15 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $3,491, more than ten times the $288 reported in 2019.
Across 79 payments — averaging $65.81 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$4K
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$203
- Optinose US, Inc.$176
- Sanofi$159
- GSK$126
- Novo Nordisk$100
- plus $456 from 10 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$3,43166%
- Food & beverage$1,76834%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker | 31 | $3,980 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 4 | $203 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 10 | $176 |
| Sanofi | 7 | $159 |
| GSK | 3 | $126 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $100 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 4 | $99 |
| Alk-abello, Inc | 5 | $96 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 4 | $76 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 2 | $63 |
| Phadia US Inc. | 2 | $33 |
| Kaleo, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $15 |
| Zyla Life Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 1 | $12 |
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
$5,199 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 380 otolaryngology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Azelastine Hcl | 39 | $1,043 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 53 | $526 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 11 | $347 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 38 | $293 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 44 | $175 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 15 | $174 |
| Prednisone | 54 | $139 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 14 | $126 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 14 | $109 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 33 | $87 |
| Famotidine | 15 | $64 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Cincinnati
- Alexander DonathCincinnati$64K
- Katie PhillipsCincinnati$14K
- Aaron FriedmanCincinnati$13K
- Yash PatilCincinnati$11K
- Ahmad SedaghatCincinnati$9K
- Esther ChengCincinnati$7K
- Matthew HenslerCincinnati$5K
- Joseph HellmannCincinnati$5K
- Thomas TamiCincinnati$4K
- John StaffordCincinnati$4K
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.