Stephen Gieser, MD
Ophthalmology · Wheaton, ILNPI 1851389787
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $11,430 of the $13,808 with a category attached, or 82.8%. Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. accounts for 93.3% of it on its own, with 9 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $13,005 and has fallen 99.5% since, to $60 in 2025. Among ophthalmology clinicians in IL 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 54 payments — averaging $255.71 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$13K
- AbbVie$490
- Glaukos Corporation$132
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$94
- NEW World Medical,inc.$65
- Alcon$55
- plus $88 from 4 others
Across 4 payments — averaging $10,352 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.
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$41K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$11,43083%
- Travel & lodging$7415%
- Food & beverage$1,57311%
- Gifts$640%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 23 | $12,886 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 18 | $490 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 1 | $132 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 4 | $94 |
| NEW World Medical,inc. | 1 | $65 |
| Alcon | 3 | $55 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 1 | $33 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | 1 | $19 |
| Novartis | 1 | $11 |
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.
How this compares
$13,808 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 773 ophthalmology providers in Illinois.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 240 | $177,718 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 257 | $145,403 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 126 | $57,756 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 207 | $43,453 |
| VyzultaLatanoprostene Bunod | 70 | $38,860 |
| RhopressaNetarsudil Mesylate | 42 | $28,244 |
| Latanoprost | 1,741 | $26,812 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 23 | $26,621 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 615 | $12,051 |
| CequaCyclosporine | 12 | $7,060 |
| SimbrinzaBrinzolamide/Brimonidine Tart | 14 | $5,958 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 276 | $5,231 |
| Travoprost | 28 | $3,455 |
| Dorzolamide Hcl | 202 | $3,054 |
| Timolol Maleate | 261 | $2,636 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieLumigan, Combigan, Restasis | $490 | $229,779406 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rocklatan, Rhopressa | $12,886 | $205,962282 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Vyzulta | $94 | $38,86070 claims |
| AlconSimbrinza | $55 | $5,95814 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 90th percentile of 773 ophthalmology providers in Illinois.
Other ophthalmology in Wheaton
- Seenu HariprasadChicago$2.3M
- Lisa NijmSpringfield$1.7M
- Kathleen MornoNorth Riverside$1.2M
- Veeral ShethOak Forest$716K
- James KatzDes Plaines$642K
- Mitchell JacksonLake Villa$584K
- David LubeckHomewood$575K
- Parag MajmudarHighland Park$451K
- Daniel OwensLombard$343K
- Yannek LeidermanChicago$312K
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.