Steven Towle
Optometrist · Bismarck, NDNPI 1932197209
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.5% of the total across 43 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 12 manufacturers reported payments, led by Alcon at 35.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $317 and has fallen 85.6% since, to $46 in 2025.
Across 43 payments — averaging $23.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Alcon$364
- AbbVie$218
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$190
- Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.$48
- Dompe US, Inc.$43
- Amgen$29
- plus $120 from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,00799%
- Education$51%
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 | 13 | $364 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 11 | $218 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $190 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 2 | $48 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Amgen | 2 | $29 |
| Novartis | 2 | $26 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| The Cameron-ehlen Group, Inc. | 2 | $19 |
| Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited | 1 | $14 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 1 | $13 |
How this compares
$1,012 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 179 optometrist providers in North Dakota.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LumiganBimatoprost | 28 | $18,485 |
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 20 | $10,413 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 22 | $2,575 |
| Travoprost | 12 | $2,084 |
| Latanoprost | 121 | $1,406 |
| Timolol Maleate | 87 | $1,033 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 22 | $420 |
| ErythromycinErythromycin Base | 28 | $254 |
| Polymyxin B Sul-TrimethoprimPolymyxin B Sulf/Trimethoprim | 12 | $103 |
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 | $218 | $18,48528 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rocklatan | $190 | $10,41320 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 75th percentile of 179 optometrist providers in North Dakota.
Other optometrist in Bismarck
- Paul BallietBismarck$2K
- Danelle MochBismarck$1K
- Thomas HanstedBismarck$1K
- Kyle OttesonBismarck$934
- Brian BeattieBismarck$926
- Wesley SchwartzBismarck$752
- Krista HeilBismarck$644
- Timothy TelloBismarck$639
- Kellen PathroffBismarck$633
- Brooke MesserWest Fargo$263K
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.