Written by Mike Price, OT
Sleep provides the body and brain time to recover from the demands of the day. For people who use a hospital bed at home, choosing the right bed allows for restorative sleep that contributes to the maintenance of optimum health.
For relevant and extremely useful information, read our article How to Choose a Hospital Bed for Home Use, which will assist you in making the best choice of a home hospital bed for you or your loved one.
Some beds come with a mattress, rails, and other accessories - while some beds only include the bed frame. These options impact the cost of a home hospital bed, which can range in price from $270 to $9,000.
Manual hospital beds are the least expensive models, and they usually offer fewer features and accessories. In general, semi-electric is more expensive, and full-electric is the most expensive. While a manual hospital bed has an appealing price point, sometimes quality should not be sacrificed for the price tag. Read our article How to Choose a Hospital Bed for Home Use for all the pros, cons, benefits, (and more) of each bed type.
According to Medicare.gov, Medicare Part B covers hospital beds as durable medical equipment prescribed by a doctor for use at home. With original Medicare, if your supplier accepts assignment, you pay 20 percent of the approved amount, and the Part B deductible applies. Medicare pays for different kinds of durable medical equipment in different ways, and you may need to rent the bed, buy the bed, or you might be able to choose to rent or buy it.
Medicare will only cover durable medical equipment like home hospital beds if your doctors and DME suppliers are enrolled in Medicare. If they aren’t enrolled, Medicare won’t pay the claims submitted by them.
*PLEASE NOTE, RehabMart does not accept insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid as payment options. What we can do is provide you with an itemized receipt after purchase (upon your request), with which you can apply for reimbursement through your insurance provider. To determine which products are eligible for reimbursement, you'll need to speak to a representative of your insurance provider prior to purchase. RehabMart cannot guarantee what your insurance will cover!
Tricare for Life (TFL) is supplemental medical insurance for retired veterans enrolled in Medicare, and helps cover the costs of things not covered by Medicare. This is true for durable medical equipment, such as home hospital beds. TFL will pick up the 20 percent copayment of a hospital bed that's prescribed by a doctor.
Also, Tricare for Life is formerly known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS).
According to the IRS, you can make a deduction from your federal income taxes if you purchase a home hospital bed for yourself, your spouse, or another dependent. Deductions for durable medical equipment can only be made in the year that they were purchased.
There are multiple Non-Profit Assistance Programs for durable medical equipment. These Non-Profits can be divided into 3 groups: National Foundations, Local Non-Profits, and Lost Limb Organizations. National Foundations usually require the user to have a specific diagnosis (e.g. Lou Gehrig’s Disease and Muscular Dystrophy) to participate. Local Non-Profits usually accept donated equipment, and re-sell them at little to no cost. Additionally, there are low-income relief programs that offer free, used medical equipment.
Often, there is more to setting up a safe and comfortable home hospital bed than just the bedframe. From sheets and bedding to accessories, there are several things you can add to create a restful sleep environment.
Some hospital beds come with mattresses, and other models require a specially-sized hospital bed mattress to be purchased separately. The support, safety features, and pressure distribution all contribute to how well a mattress will meet a user’s needs. Read How to Choose the Best Hospital Bed Mattress for Home for assistance in choosing the right mattress for your home hospital bed.
Because hospital beds are not the same dimensions as standard beds, they require specially sized sheets. We created a guide, How to Choose Hospital Bed Sheets and Bedding, to help you make an informed bedding purchasing decision.
The list of available hospital bed accessories are as varied as the conditions that require the use of a home hospital bed. Safety rails to minimize fall risk and aid in bed positioning, IV poles for fluids, trapeze apparatus to assist in positioning, scales to weigh a user without leaving the bed, overbed tray tables and storage solutions, bed extension kits, mattress pads, and safety alarms are some of the accessories you can add to your home hospital bed.
It’s important for safety and comfort that hospital beds be assembled correctly. Because they can be very heavy and complicated to put together, for a fee there are assembly services available for many models.
A home hospital bed is an investment in wellness, and choosing the best option for your situation will contribute to quality sleep and better overall health. Rehabmart offers a complete line of hospital beds, mattresses, bedding, and accessories.
Read Ultimate Guide to Hospital Beds & Mattresses for Home Care for valuable information on how to choose and outfit the best home hospital bed for you.
Co-Founder of Rehabmart and an Occupational Therapist since 1993. Mike has spent his professional career working in multiple areas of Occupational Therapy, including pediatrics, geriatrics, hand therapy, ergonomics and inpatient / outpatient rehabilitation. Mike enjoys writing articles that help people solve complex therapeutic problems and make better product choices.
