Norman Melton, OD
Optometrist · Charlotte, NCNPI 1013961069
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $73,013 of the $86,129 with a category attached, or 84.8%. Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. accounts for 97.2% of it on its own, with 11 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $48,766, more than ten times the $16 reported in 2019. Among optometrist clinicians in NC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 120 payments — averaging $717.74 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$84K
- Thea Pharma Inc.$1K
- Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$396
- Amgen$165
- Novartis$134
- Harrow Eye, LLC$127
- plus $266 from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2,7003%
- Speaking & faculty fees$73,01385%
- Travel & lodging$6,4557%
- Food & beverage$3,9625%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 97 | $83,689 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 2 | $1,352 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 6 | $396 |
| Amgen | 3 | $165 |
| Novartis | 2 | $134 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 2 | $127 |
| Alcon | 3 | $113 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $75 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $24 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Eyevance Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $16 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
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.
- MIEBO$67,413
- XIIDRA$50,774
- VYZULTA$10,423
- IYUZEH$1,352
- LOTEMAX SM$620
- BLINK NUTRITEARS$600
- XDEMVY$250
- ALREX$120
- ZYLET$120
- Flarex$113
- IHEEZO$113
- Verkazia$113
- Tobradex ST$113
- Natacyn$113
How this compares
$86,129 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,326 optometrist providers in North Carolina.
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 | 179 | $161,255 |
| MieboPerfluorohexyloctane/Pf | 115 | $95,497 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 53 | $46,354 |
| VyzultaLatanoprostene Bunod | 42 | $17,879 |
| Fluorometholone | 202 | $14,839 |
| Cyclosporine | 36 | $11,017 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 28 | $7,772 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 11 | $6,501 |
| Loteprednol Etabonate | 45 | $5,987 |
| Latanoprost | 538 | $5,246 |
| Timolol Maleate | 171 | $4,731 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 152 | $4,444 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 40 | $4,413 |
| InveltysLoteprednol Etabonate | 12 | $3,527 |
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-DexamethNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Dexametha | 263 | $2,808 |
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, Combigan, Lumigan | $24 | $175,528218 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Miebo, Xiidra, Vyzulta | $83,689 | $159,730210 claims |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Inveltys | $16 | $3,52712 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 95th percentile of 1,326 optometrist providers in North Carolina.
Other optometrist in Charlotte
- David WichnoskiCharlotte$109K
- Scott PhilippeCharlotte$87K
- Paula NewsomeCharlotte$16K
- Charles KnudsonCharlotte$16K
- Michael JohnsonCharlotte$13K
- Priya ShethCharlotte$11K
- Spencer MooreCharlotte$9K
- Marc JamesCharlotte$8K
- Courtney DryerCharlotte$8K
- Sarah BellCharlotte$8K
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.