Nichole Rioux
Optometrist · Helena, MTNPI 1730315730
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by other: $980 of the $1,460 with a category attached, or 67.1%. Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. accounts for 67.1% of it on its own, with 6 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $980 and has fallen 92.1% since, to $77 in 2025.
Across 13 payments — averaging $112.33 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc.$980
- Astellas Pharma US Inc$216
- AbbVie$174
- Carl Zeiss Meditec AG$39
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$20
- Optos, Inc.$18
- plus $14 from 1 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$42429%
- Gifts$393%
- Entertainment$181%
- Other$98067%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 1 | $980 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 4 | $216 |
| AbbVie | 3 | $174 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | 2 | $39 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Optos, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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.
- CIRRUS HD-OCT$980
- Izervay$125
How this compares
$1,460 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 184 optometrist providers in Montana.
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 | 30 | $33,360 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 35 | $25,357 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 18 | $8,183 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 14 | $4,405 |
| Latanoprost | 204 | $3,034 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 17 | $2,852 |
| Travoprost | 13 | $2,307 |
| Timolol Maleate | 32 | $1,792 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 34 | $560 |
| Ciprofloxacin Hcl | 19 | $307 |
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 | $174 | $66,90083 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 85th percentile of 184 optometrist providers in Montana.
Other optometrist in Helena
- William HasquetHelena$2K
- Robert SimonsHelena$1K
- William SimonsHelena$1K
- Jenet MeltonHelena$1K
- Marcus KelleyHelena$823
- Patricia HernackiHelena$821
- David BauerBillings$4K
- Marisa HessLivingston$4K
- Dirk BeyerHamilton$4K
- Joseph VincentGreat Falls$3K
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.