Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Thomas Arnold, OD

Optometrist · Sugar Land, TX
Practice pattern: Mixed Practice— Diverse clinical practice across multiple procedure types
Consulting-driven
15337 SOUTHWEST FWY, Sugar Land, TX 77478
2812422020
In practice since 2005 (20 years)
NPI: 1215923859 verify on NPPES ↗
Very High
DATA COVERAGE
Data in 4 of 4 federal sources
Measures public federal data availability — not provider quality
Informational, not a quality rating. This page presents federal public records about Dr. Arnold from CMS (NPPES, Open Payments, Medicare Provider Utilization, PECOS). It is not medical advice, an endorsement, or a judgment of clinical quality. Always consult the provider directly and a licensed clinician for medical decisions. Read methodology →
Are you Dr. Arnold? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Arnold

Dr. Thomas Arnold is an optometrist in Sugar Land, TX, with 20 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Arnold performed 11 Medicare services across 11 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Arnold received a total of $90,620 from 17 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 109 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in optometrist. The majority of payments are for consulting, which typically reflects recognized clinical expertise sought by manufacturers. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Arnold is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. This is not a quality rating. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.

✓ 20 years in practice▲ 11 Medicare services$ $90,620 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
11
Medicare services
0.1× state median for optometrist
11
Unique beneficiaries
$85
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~1 Medicare services per year of practice

Top procedures by volume

Ranked by number of services performed for Medicare patients. Avg. submitted charge is what the provider billed; avg. Medicare payment is what CMS paid.

ProcedureVolumeAvg. paidAvg. submitted
Comprehensive eye exam, established patient11$85$165
How to read this data: This reflects Medicare patients only (typically 65+). Payment amounts are what Medicare paid the provider, not your out-of-pocket cost. A higher procedure volume generally indicates more experience with that procedure.

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$90,620
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $12,946/year across 7 years
Top 0% in TX for optometrist
17
Companies
109
Individual payments
All payments are legal and publicly reported · Not evidence of wrongdoing · How to interpret →

Payment profile

Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.

Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$54,801 (60.5%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$34,000 (37.5%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$1,819 (2.0%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$196
2023
$203
2022
$52,203
2021
$21,858
2020
$3,239
2019
$4,496
2018
$8,425

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
CooperVision Inc.
$47,733
Bausch & Lomb, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
$31,587
Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.
$6,158
Visioneering Technologies, Inc.
$3,088
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$593
Boston Foundation for Sight
$575
Glaukos Corporation
$166
SUN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES INC.
$136
ABBVIE INC.
$116
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
$103
OPTOS, INC.
$98
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.
$68
Shire North American Group Inc
$64
Alcon Vision LLC
$58
Young's Valley Contax, Inc.
$40
Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$24
ABB Con-Cise Optical Group LLC
$12
Top 3 companies account for 94.3% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ALDEN SCLERAL ZENLENS · ALDEN SOFT IRREGULAR · Acuvue · BIOTRUE · BIOTRUE ONE DAY · BROMSITE · BTOD · Biofinity Contact Lens · CEQUA · Cequa · Contact Lens · INFUSE · INVELTYS · KXL system (not refurbished) · MULTI-FOCAL LENS · MiSight Contact Lens · Multiple Brands Contact Lens · MyDay Contact Lens · Onefit Contact Lens · P200DTx · Precision 1 · Systane · ULTRA · VUITY · XIIDRA · ZEN LENS
Should you be concerned? Payments from pharmaceutical and device companies are legal and common — 57% of U.S. physicians receive at least one. They often reflect legitimate consulting, research, or education. What matters is whether a recommended drug or device appears in your doctor's payment records. If so, consider asking your doctor about it. How to interpret this data →

The majority of payments (60%) are consulting fees, which typically reflect recognized clinical expertise sought by manufacturers. Total industry engagement is in the top 0% for optometrist in TX.

Equivalent to $823,820 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a optometrist in Sugar Land?
Compare optometrists in the Sugar Land area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
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Geographic Context

Optometrists within 10 mi
951
Per 100K population
110.6
County median income
$113,409
Nearest hospital
ST LUKE'S SUGAR LAND HOSPITAL
0.0 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry NPPESWeekly updates
Medicare Enrollment PECOSMonthly updates
Practice Data Medicare Util.Annual (CY lag)
Industry Payments Open PaymentsCY 2024
Disciplinary History— Not publicN/A

This provider has data in 4 of 4 available federal datasets, with a Data Coverage level of Very High. This measures how much public data is available about a provider — not how good they are. How we calculate this →

Summary

Dr. Arnold is a mixed practice specialist, and high industry engagement (consulting-driven, top 0%), with 20 years of practice experience.

This summary is auto-generated from federal data. It describes data availability and patterns — not clinical quality. Read our methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dr. Arnold experienced with comprehensive eye exam, established patient?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Arnold performed 11 comprehensive eye exam, established patient services. Research suggests that higher procedure volume is often associated with better outcomes, particularly for complex procedures. Note that Medicare data only captures patients aged 65 and older, so the total practice volume across all patients is likely higher.
Does Dr. Arnold receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Arnold received a total of $90,620 from 17 companies across 109 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common among physicians — 57% of all U.S. physicians receive at least one industry payment. Patients may wish to ask their doctor about these relationships, especially if a recommended drug or device appears in the payment records.
How do Dr. Arnold's costs compare to other optometrists in Sugar Land?
Dr. Arnold's average Medicare payment per service is $85. Note that these figures represent what Medicare pays, not your out-of-pocket cost, which depends on your specific insurance plan and deductible. Procedure-level data above shows both what was submitted and what Medicare paid for each service type.
What does Data Coverage mean?
Data Coverage (currently Very High for Dr. Arnold) measures how much public federal data is available about a provider. It is not a quality rating. A "Very High" or "High" level means the provider has data across multiple federal sources (NPPES, PECOS, Medicare Utilization, Open Payments), indicating a long track record of practice, Medicare participation, and industry disclosure. A "Low" or "Moderate" level may simply mean the provider is newer, does not see Medicare patients, or has not received any industry payments — none of which are inherently negative. Read our full methodology →
Is this data up to date?
Each data source has its own update cycle. Provider registry data (NPPES) is updated weekly. Medicare enrollment (PECOS) is updated monthly. Medicare practice data has a ~2 year lag — the most recent available is typically 2 years prior. Industry payment data (Open Payments) is published annually, usually in June, covering the prior calendar year. We display the data date prominently on each section so you always know how current it is. See our data freshness policy →
About this page

All data on this page is sourced verbatim from public federal records published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): NPPES ↗, Open Payments ↗, Medicare Provider Utilization ↗, and PECOS. Publication is mandated by the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (§6002 ACA, 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7h) and the Freedom of Information Act.

This page is not medical advice, an endorsement, a recommendation, or a quality rating. The Transparency Score measures data completeness — how much federal information exists for this provider — not clinical performance, patient outcomes, or quality of care. Always verify information directly with the provider and consult a licensed clinician before making medical decisions.

Provider corrections: Provider portal · Privacy questions: Privacy Policy · Terms: Terms of Use · Methodology: Methodology

Data Disclaimer — Data sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), Open Payments program, Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data, and Provider Enrollment & Certification data (PECOS). Published under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This website is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by CMS, HHS, or the U.S. Government. Data may contain errors as reported to CMS by providers and reporting entities. Payments from industry are legal and do not indicate wrongdoing. Medicare data reflects only patients aged 65+ or those with qualifying disabilities. For corrections, contact CMS directly. This information does not constitute medical advice and should not be used as the sole basis for choosing a healthcare provider. Procedure descriptions use plain language and do not reference CPT® codes, which are copyrighted by the American Medical Association. Full methodology → · Report a data error → · Privacy policy →