Samantha Heater, OD
Optometrist · Syracuse, NYNPI 1982086484
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.5% of the total across 378 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 30 manufacturers reported payments, led by Alcon at 24.3% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $2,987, 3.0 times the $995 reported in 2019. Among optometrist clinicians in NY 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 378 payments — averaging $26.07 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Alcon$2K
- Sight Sciences, Inc.$762
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$744
- Glaukos Corporation$542
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$517
- Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$498
- plus $4K from 24 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$9,808100%
- Entertainment$480%
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 | 90 | $2,400 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 13 | $762 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 34 | $744 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 16 | $542 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 19 | $517 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 17 | $498 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 9 | $485 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 29 | $465 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 16 | $433 |
| Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. | 49 | $427 |
| Novartis | 27 | $406 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 6 | $326 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 9 | $297 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 3 | $194 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 8 | $188 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 9 | $150 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 7 | $120 |
| LKC Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $111 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $107 |
| Spark Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $106 |
| Coopervision Inc. | 1 | $105 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $100 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $84 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 1 | $67 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 3 | $64 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 3 | $49 |
| Optos, Inc. | 1 | $48 |
| Alcon Research LLC | 1 | $27 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Eyevance Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $13 |
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.
- XIIDRA$343
- Rocklatan$284
- Clareon$275
- Precision 1$262
- MIEBO$236
- TEPEZZA$226
- OMNI$218
- XDEMVY$218
- Rhopressa$148
- SIMBRINZA$148
- Precision7$141
- DAILIES TOTAL1$129
- OMNI(R) SURGICAL SYSTEM (US)$125
- EYSUVIS$125
- Prokera$112
- LUXTURNA$106
- BROMSITE$106
- MiSight Contact Lens$105
- VYZULTA$104
- DURYSTA$104
How this compares
$9,856 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 2,743 optometrist providers in New York.
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 | 28 | $49,302 |
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 64 | $41,563 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 17 | $35,438 |
| TyrvayaVarenicline Tartrate | 32 | $23,014 |
| Cyclosporine | 17 | $14,846 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 12 | $8,769 |
| Latanoprost | 497 | $5,907 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 11 | $5,822 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 180 | $3,059 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 11 | $2,646 |
| Timolol Maleate | 61 | $2,077 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 92 | $1,807 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 36 | $1,422 |
| Travoprost | 16 | $1,393 |
| Tobramycin-DexamethasoneTobramycin/Dexamethasone | 23 | $828 |
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 | $433 | $63,89451 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rocklatan | $150 | $41,56364 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Xiidra | $744 | $35,43817 claims |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.Tyrvaya | $465 | $23,01432 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 2,743 optometrist providers in New York.
Other optometrist in Syracuse
- Roy KlineLake Katrine$822K
- Susan ResnickNew York$463K
- Murray FingeretHewlett$374K
- Albert MorierSlingerlands$347K
- Denise WhittamNew York$343K
- Justin BazanBrooklyn$303K
- Jennifer TsaiNew York$275K
- Alexander KabiriQueens Village$268K
- Sophia VisanjiNew York$233K
- Jason ComptonNew York$181K
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.