Stephen Cass, MD
Otolaryngology · Aurora, CONPI 1568555910
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (37.1%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Cochlear Americas at 34.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $4,930 and has fallen 95.9% since, to $202 in 2025. Among otolaryngology clinicians in CO 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 42 payments — averaging $273.27 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Cochlear Americas$4K
- Oticon Medical, LLC$3K
- Advanced Bionics, LLC$3K
- Med-el Corporation$895
- Zimmer Biomet$403
- Acclarent, Inc$239
- plus $209 from 2 others
Across 29 payments — averaging $2293.27 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- Cochlear Americas$53K
- Otonomy, Inc.$13K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$4,26037%
- Travel & lodging$4,03435%
- Food & beverage$3,18328%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cochlear Americas | 10 | $3,985 |
| Oticon Medical, LLC | 2 | $3,088 |
| Advanced Bionics, LLC | 13 | $2,660 |
| Med-el Corporation | 10 | $895 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 3 | $403 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 2 | $239 |
| Grace Medical, Inc. | 1 | $122 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $87 |
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.
- Baha$3,724
- PONTO BONE ANCHORED HEARING SYSTEM$3,025
- Nucleus$2,400
- HIRES ULTRA CI HIFOCUS MS ELECTRODE$2,070
- Cochlear$1,843
- Mi1250 SYNCHRONY 2 FLEXsoft$556
- Cochlear Nucleus CI632 cochlear implant with Slim Modiolar electrode$402
- OSIA OSI300 IMPLANT$402
- BCI 602 Kit$254
- HTR-PEKK$148
- Thinflap$140
- Relieva Spinplus$133
- 1.5mm Neuro$115
- TruDi Nav Cable$105
- MED-EL Maestro Cochlear Implant System$104
How this compares
$11,478 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 174 otolaryngology providers in Colorado.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ofloxacin | 28 | $519 |
| Triamterene-HydrochlorothiazidTriamterene/Hydrochlorothiazid | 12 | $137 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Aurora
- Vijay RamakrishnanAurora$128K
- Andrew WinklerAurora$68K
- Ashoke KhanwalkarAurora$28K
- Herman JenkinsAurora$5K
- Anne GetzAurora$5K
- Todd KingdomAurora$3K
- Geoffrey FerrilAurora$3K
- Brian CervenkaAurora$3K
- Joseph GonzalezAurora$2K
- Kimberly NelsonAurora$2K
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.