Sao Liu, MD
Ophthalmology · Omaha, NENPI 1548275472
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 95.6% of the total across 117 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 26 manufacturers reported payments, led by Alcon at 27.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $919 and has fallen 53.5% since, to $428 in 2025.
Across 117 payments — averaging $34.05 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Alcon$1K
- Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc.$664
- AbbVie$661
- Rxsight Inc$346
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$252
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$169
- plus $796 from 20 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1584%
- Food & beverage$3,80796%
- Education$180%
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 | 19 | $1,095 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 7 | $664 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 39 | $661 |
| Rxsight Inc | 4 | $346 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 13 | $252 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $169 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 1 | $159 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 2 | $117 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 4 | $85 |
| Novartis | 5 | $71 |
| Amgen | 3 | $48 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Omeros Corporation | 1 | $27 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 1 | $21 |
| Spark Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| The Cameron-ehlen Group, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Topcon Healthcare, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $16 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Ivantis, Inc | 1 | $14 |
| Coherus Oncology, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, 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.
- Centurion$325
- LIGHT ADJUSTABLE LENS (LAL) AND LIGHT DELIVERY DEVICE (LDD)$283
- Hydrus Microstent$253
- Tecnis IOL$235
- VisuMax$159
- PanOptix$137
- ReSTOR$134
- Voyager DSLT$130
- Rhopressa$125
- Rocklatan$125
- Tecnis Simplicity$114
How this compares
$3,984 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 105 ophthalmology providers in Nebraska.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prednisolone Acetate | 786 | $40,524 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 27 | $31,576 |
| MoxifloxacinMoxifloxacin Hcl | 551 | $14,466 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 25 | $12,544 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 20 | $9,014 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 23 | $4,778 |
| VyzultaLatanoprostene Bunod | 17 | $4,331 |
| Fluorometholone | 39 | $3,926 |
| Travoprost | 26 | $3,868 |
| Ketorolac Tromethamine | 140 | $3,572 |
| RhopressaNetarsudil Mesylate | 11 | $3,567 |
| Latanoprost | 577 | $3,228 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 157 | $2,799 |
| Brinzolamide | 13 | $2,463 |
| Timolol Maleate | 236 | $2,205 |
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 | $661 | $53,13472 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Vyzulta | $252 | $4,33117 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rhopressa | $169 | $3,56711 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 105 ophthalmology providers in Nebraska.
Other ophthalmology in Omaha
- Brandon BaartmanOmaha$226K
- Ronald KruegerOmaha$224K
- Lorraine ProvencherOmaha$220K
- Lance KuglerOmaha$41K
- Rao ChunduryOmaha$14K
- Shane HavensOmaha$6K
- Brandon MenkeOmaha$6K
- Sao LiuOmaha$5K
- Michael HalstedOmaha$4K
- Thomas HejkalOmaha$4K
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.