FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Log (Press Release) – Mar 14, 2010 – New York, NY — The New York
State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General has reportedly
contacted radio personality Howard Stern and a group of New York based
comedians seeking repayment of $30,000 in medical costs wrongfully
billed to Medicaid as the result of a month-long “prank” at Bellevue
Hospital in November of 2008.

As part of the prank, a group of local comedians, with the cooperation
of New York City Hall, imprisoned a Manhattan resident for nearly a
month in an attempt to have him miss a housing court appearance that
would lead to his eviction.

During his imprisonment, the resident, who has not been named, was
prescribed powerful and inappropriate drugs by hospital staff at the
urging of Stern and actor Ben Stiller, and ran up a bill of $30,000
that was eventually paid for by Medicaid, according to reports.

An additional expense of $50,000 was incurred by Bellevue Hospital as
the result of beds taken up by others participating in the “prank,” an
amount that has not been repaid to the city.

“We were a bit taken aback to find this out,” said Janine
Daniels-Rivera, general counsel for OMIG. “The fact that hospital
records appear to have been destroyed to cover up the fraud only
aggravates the situation.”

But assistant corporate counsel George Gutwirth says he has “no
knowledge” of the situation.

OMIG deputy Robert Hussar calls the fraud “unprecedented” and “hard to
believe” and urged Stern to repay the $30,000 to Medicaid and the
$50,000 to Bellevue Hospital “immediately.”

Hussar finds the prescription of unnecessary and dangerous medications
in the case by doctors aware of the “prank” to be a particularly
egregious part of the affair and “an extreme violation of medical
ethics.”