Michael Cassell, MD
Retina Specialist · Kansas City, MONPI 1932107000
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 96.3% of the total across 89 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 18 manufacturers reported payments, led by Alcon at 37.6% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,102, 9.0 times the $123 reported in 2019.
Across 89 payments — averaging $31.32 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Alcon$1K
- Genentech USA, Inc.$366
- Novartis$228
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$202
- Alimera Sciences, Inc.$190
- ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$186
- plus $568 from 12 others
Across 16 payments — averaging $24,142 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.
- Novartis$379K
- Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$5K
- ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$3K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,68396%
- Entertainment$1044%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Alcon | 26 | $1,047 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 11 | $366 |
| Novartis | 8 | $228 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 15 | $202 |
| Alimera Sciences, Inc. | 7 | $190 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $186 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 4 | $173 |
| Optos, Inc. | 1 | $104 |
| AbbVie | 3 | $69 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 1 | $29 |
| Biogen | 1 | $29 |
| Amgen | 1 | $23 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $20 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Rxsight Inc | 1 | $15 |
| Coopervision Inc. | 1 | $15 |
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.
- ARGOS$239
- PANORAMIC OPHTHALMOSCOPE$209
- OCT OPHTHALMOSCOPE$209
- TOTAL30$160
- Clareon PanOptix Pro$143
- VABYSMO$134
- Clareon$117
- PURIFIED CORTROPHIN GEL$113
- NFC-700$104
How this compares
$2,788 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 45 retina specialist providers in Missouri.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prednisolone Acetate | 309 | $10,150 |
| Ofloxacin | 189 | $2,064 |
| Loteprednol Etabonate | 12 | $1,885 |
| Ketorolac Tromethamine | 54 | $1,134 |
| Timolol Maleate | 14 | $1,068 |
| Eplerenone | 12 | $449 |
| Latanoprost | 40 | $438 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 22 | $234 |
| ErythromycinErythromycin Base | 13 | $114 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 22 | $114 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other retina specialist in Kansas City
- Kathleen KwedarKansas City$2K
- Kevin BlinderBrentwood$333K
- Aaron LeeSaint Louis$214K
- Sabin DangBrentwood$174K
- Athanasios PapakostasBrentwood$85K
- Alia DurraniBrentwood$53K
- Barton BlackorbyBrentwood$31K
- Carla TerritoFlorissant$21K
- David GlaserFlorissant$20K
- Ollya FromalBrentwood$14K
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.