Niels Kokot, MD
Otolaryngology · Los Angeles, CANPI 1558487611
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (35.1%), education and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Intuitive Surgical accounts for 70.6% of it on its own, with 3 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $7,230 and has fallen 98.4% since, to $114 in 2024. Among otolaryngology clinicians in CA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 12 payments — averaging $949.23 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$8K
- Sanofi$3K
- Atos Medical Inc$85
- Acera Surgical, Inc.$29
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$3,20128%
- Speaking & faculty fees$4,00035%
- Travel & lodging$5425%
- Food & beverage$1481%
- Education$3,50031%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 7 | $8,047 |
| Sanofi | 3 | $3,230 |
| Atos Medical Inc | 1 | $85 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 1 | $29 |
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.
- Da Vinci Surgical System$7,985
- LIBTAYO$3,325
How this compares
$11,391 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 30 | $816 |
| Clotrimazole | 23 | $295 |
| Ibuprofen | 25 | $252 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 31 | $183 |
| Gabapentin | 15 | $67 |
| Chlorhexidine Gluconate | 11 | $38 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Los Angeles
- Keith BlackwellLos Angeles$349K
- Jeffrey SuhLos Angeles$223K
- Dennis TangLos Angeles$209K
- Elisabeth FerenceLos Angeles$111K
- Arthur WuLos Angeles$67K
- Richard MichelinLos Angeles$57K
- Maie St JohnLos Angeles$39K
- Kevin GrafmillerLos Angeles$27K
- Philip KnottLos Angeles$24K
- Uttam SinhaLos Angeles$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.