HOUSE OVERSIGHT 019425 The charges included "IV therapy," billed at $787 for the adult and $393 for the child, which suggests that the difference in the amount of saline infused, typically less than a liter, could alone account for several hundred dollars. Tricia O'Malley, a spokeswoman for the hospital, would not disclose the price it pays per IV bag or break down the therapy charge, which she called the hospital's "private pay rate," or the sticker price charged to people without insurance. She said she could not explain why patients covered by Medicaid were billed at all. Eventually the head of the family, an electrician's helper who speaks little English, complained to HealthFirst, the Medicaid H.M.O. It paid $119 to settle the grandmother's $2,168 bill, without specifying how much of the payment was for the IV. It paid $66.50 to the doctor, who had billed $606. At White Plains Hospital, a patient with private insurance from Aetna was charged $91 for one unit of Hospira IV that cost the hospital 86 cents, according to a hospital spokeswoman, Eliza O'Neill. Ms. O'Neill defended the markup as "consistent with industry standards." She said it reflected "not only the cost of the solution but a variety of related services and processes," like procurement, biomedical handling and storage, apparently not included in a charge of $127 for administering the IV and $893 for emergency-room services. The patient, a financial services professional in her 50s, ended up paying $100 for her visit. "Honestly, I don't understand the system at all," said the woman, who shared the information on the condition that she not be named. Dr. Frost, the anesthesiologist, spent three days in the same hospital and owed only $8, thanks to insurance coverage by United HealthCare. Still, she was baffled by the charges: $6,844, including $546 for six liters of saline that cost the hospital $5.16. "It's just absolutely absurd." she said. "That's saltwater." Last fall, I appeal