Steve Lee, DO
Rheumatology · Fontana, CANPI 1336206358
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (59.2%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Novartis accounts for 66.3% of it on its own, with 15 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $8,119 and has fallen 82.9% since, to $1,387 in 2025.
Across 74 payments — averaging $229.68 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novartis$11K
- AstraZeneca$1K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$1K
- AbbVie$552
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$498
- GSK$398
- plus $2K from 10 others
Across 90 payments — averaging $17,676 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.
- Novartis$1.2M
- Amgen$91K
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$70K
- EMD Serono, Inc.$60K
- GSK$58K
- Genentech, Inc.$49K
- plus $57K from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$10,06759%
- Travel & lodging$1,5519%
- Food & beverage$5,31831%
- Education$610%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis | 18 | $11,273 |
| AstraZeneca | 12 | $1,273 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $1,018 |
| AbbVie | 8 | $552 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 5 | $498 |
| GSK | 5 | $398 |
| UCB, Inc. | 6 | $375 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 3 | $293 |
| Bayer | 2 | $237 |
| Biogen | 2 | $213 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $206 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 2 | $197 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $150 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 2 | $139 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $120 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 1 | $53 |
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
$16,996 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 808 rheumatology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 89 | $469,270 |
| OrenciaAbatacept | 44 | $202,017 |
| EnbrelEtanercept | 43 | $197,687 |
| Orencia ClickjectAbatacept | 42 | $193,246 |
| XeljanzTofacitinib Citrate | 48 | $158,635 |
| OtezlaApremilast | 35 | $155,077 |
| Cosentyx Sensoready (2 Pens)Secukinumab | 34 | $136,173 |
| Amjevita(Cf) AutoinjectorAdalimumab-Atto | 104 | $101,517 |
| Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab | 12 | $90,662 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 12 | $88,414 |
| Xeljanz XrTofacitinib Citrate | 11 | $54,384 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 880 | $17,606 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 497 | $13,575 |
| Amjevita(Cf)Adalimumab-Atto | 13 | $11,357 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 127 | $9,004 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AmgenEnbrel, Otezla, Amjevita(Cf) | $293 | $364,12191 claims |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.Orencia | $197 | $202,01744 claims |
| PfizerXeljanz | $120 | $158,63548 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 80th percentile of 808 rheumatology providers in California.
Other rheumatology in Fontana
- Sudhakar TumuluriSan Francisco$2.8M
- Ara DikranianSan Diego$2.2M
- Orrin TroumSanta Monica$1.8M
- Robin DoreTustin$1.5M
- Samy MetyasCovina$1.3M
- Rhonda LambertSan Mateo$1.1M
- William ShielMission Viejo$924K
- Mark BoriginiDowney$920K
- Adam KreitenbergTarzana$863K
- Roger KornuTustin$802K
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.