Stephen Pflugfelder, MD
Ophthalmology · Houston, TXNPI 1851380216
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $198,027 of the $219,908 with a category attached, or 90.1%. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at 25.2% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $72,284, more than ten times the $6,410 reported in 2019. Among ophthalmology clinicians in TX 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 140 payments — averaging $1570.77 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$55K
- Alcon Research LLC$33K
- Dompe US, Inc.$27K
- F. Hoffmann-la Roche AG$16K
- Dompe Farmaceutici S.p.a.$14K
- AbbVie$13K
- plus $62K from 18 others
Across 33 payments — averaging $17,365 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.
- AbbVie$206K
- Alcon Research LLC$182K
- Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.$61K
- F. Hoffmann-la Roche AG$33K
- Dompe US, Inc.$31K
- Regeneron$29K
- plus $32K from 3 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$198,02790%
- Speaking & faculty fees$10,8505%
- Travel & lodging$9,8494%
- Food & beverage$1,1661%
- Gifts$160%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 34 | $55,482 |
| Alcon Research LLC | 14 | $33,187 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 22 | $26,757 |
| F. Hoffmann-la Roche AG | 5 | $16,025 |
| Dompe Farmaceutici S.p.a. | 10 | $13,979 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 4 | $12,583 |
| Alcon | 5 | $11,782 |
| Regeneron | 6 | $10,874 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 5 | $8,120 |
| KOWA Company, LTD. | 2 | $7,500 |
| Kowa Research Institute, Inc. | 12 | $7,000 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 3 | $6,629 |
| Astrazeneca UK Limited | 1 | $2,100 |
| GSK | 1 | $1,950 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $1,647 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 3 | $1,617 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $1,600 |
| Visant Medical, Inc. | 1 | $900 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 2 | $82 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 1 | $5 |
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
$219,908 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,355 ophthalmology providers in Texas.
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 | 80 | $93,001 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 17 | $19,818 |
| Methazolamide | 20 | $10,026 |
| Fluorometholone | 147 | $8,960 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 306 | $8,065 |
| Loteprednol Etabonate | 76 | $7,050 |
| CequaCyclosporine | 11 | $7,012 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 140 | $6,628 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 24 | $6,435 |
| LotemaxLoteprednol Etabonate | 22 | $6,225 |
| Cyclosporine | 20 | $6,153 |
| Lotemax SmLoteprednol Etabonate | 12 | $2,887 |
| Difluprednate | 31 | $2,844 |
| Bromfenac Sodium | 20 | $2,672 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 19 | $2,212 |
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 | $12,583 | $99,436104 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Xiidra | $8,120 | $19,81817 claims |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.Cequa | $35 | $7,01211 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 1,355 ophthalmology providers in Texas.
Other ophthalmology in Houston
- John MichelettiHouston$916K
- Christina WengHouston$676K
- Peter ChangHouston$656K
- Zaina Al-MohtasebHouston$636K
- Stephen SladeHouston$530K
- David BrownHouston$514K
- Shaheen KavoussiHouston$480K
- Elvia CansecoHouston$322K
- Bac NguyenHouston$319K
- Douglas KochHouston$308K
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.