Michael Kao
Otolaryngology · Fullerton, CANPI 1639445554
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 99 payments — averaging $41.63 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$513
- Sanofi$436
- Stryker$411
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$254
- Smith+Nephew$215
- plus $700 from 11 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,07626%
- Food & beverage$2,86670%
- Education$1804%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic | 6 | $1,593 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 30 | $513 |
| Sanofi | 18 | $436 |
| Stryker | 6 | $411 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 9 | $254 |
| Smith+Nephew | 2 | $215 |
| GSK | 5 | $157 |
| Insulet Corporation | 7 | $129 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 4 | $118 |
| Dexcom, Inc. | 1 | $104 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 2 | $47 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 3 | $45 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 2 | $33 |
| Alk-abello, Inc | 1 | $19 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Cochlear Americas | 1 | $18 |
| Novartis | 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.
- SINUVA$1,377
- PROPEL$306
- Coblation Wands$180
- XPRESS ENT DILATION SYSTEM$174
- DUPIXENT$124
- DEXCOM G6 TRANSMITTER$104
How this compares
$4,121 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 1,021 otolaryngology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ipratropium Bromide | 114 | $3,234 |
| Azelastine Hcl | 116 | $2,709 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 126 | $1,856 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 212 | $1,814 |
| Ciprofloxacin-DexamethasoneCiprofloxacin Hcl/Dexameth | 12 | $1,057 |
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-HydrocortNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Hydrocort | 25 | $1,047 |
| Ofloxacin | 14 | $762 |
| Fluocinolone Acetonide Oil | 20 | $613 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 37 | $602 |
| Famotidine | 42 | $484 |
| Cefdinir | 20 | $393 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 50 | $362 |
| Betamethasone Dipropionate | 16 | $255 |
| Omeprazole | 37 | $253 |
| Levocetirizine Dihydrochloride | 25 | $248 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Fullerton
- Eric SugiharaFullerton$27K
- Randall OwRoseville$4.3M
- Amir MoradiVista$2.6M
- Brian WeeksSan Diego$1.6M
- Charles LimbSan Francisco$1.5M
- Andrew BerosSan Diego$688K
- Paul SchalchChula Vista$573K
- Steven DavisTorrance$544K
- Arnaud BewleySacramento$541K
- Keith BlackwellLos Angeles$349K
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.