Does Medicare Cover Hospital Beds? What’s Covered and How to Get One

If someone in your family is coming home from the hospital, or finding an ordinary bed harder to use, Medicare may help pay for a hospital bed. This guide explains, in plain language, what Medicare covers and what it doesn’t, the rule that trips up many families (semi-electric versus full-electric), the paperwork, and what you’ll pay. It draws on Medicare.gov and on the coverage policy that Medicare’s equipment contractors use to decide claims, local coverage determination L33820 and its policy article A52508.

This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Your practitioner, your supplier, and your plan make the decisions for your situation.

Does Medicare cover hospital beds?

Yes. Medicare Part B (medical insurance) covers hospital beds as durable medical equipment (DME) when your provider prescribes one for use in your home (Medicare.gov). Medicare defines DME as equipment that is durable, used for a medical reason, typically useful only to someone who is sick or injured, used in your home, and expected to last at least three years (Medicare.gov).

Three conditions apply:

1. Medical need. Your medical records must show you meet Medicare’s criteria for the type of bed ordered (see who qualifies below).
2. An order from your treating practitioner, usually your doctor.
3. A Medicare-enrolled supplier. Medicare only pays for DME from enrolled suppliers. Ask whether the supplier accepts assignment before you get the bed (Medicare.gov).

“Home” has a specific meaning. Medicare doesn’t pay separately for equipment used in a hospital, critical access hospital, or skilled nursing facility, because those aren’t qualified homes; the facility must provide what you need there (CMS).

What Medicare covers, and what it doesn’t

Medicare classifies hospital beds by how they adjust. Each type has its own coverage rule:

Sources: LCD L33820 and policy article A52508. Codes are listed so you can match them to a supplier’s quote; your supplier chooses the exact code.

Accessories Medicare may cover when you meet the conditions in the policy (L33820):

• Trapeze bar (attached to the bed or freestanding), if you need it to sit up because of a respiratory condition, to change body position for other medical reasons, or to get in or out of bed. A heavy-duty trapeze is for people who weigh more than 250 lb.
• Side rails or a safety enclosure, when your condition requires them and they are part of, or an accessory to, a covered hospital bed.
• Bed cradle, when it is needed to keep bed coverings from touching the body.
• A replacement innerspring or foam mattress for a hospital bed you own. When a bed is supplied with its mattress and rails at the same time, they are billed together with the bed (A52508).

Not covered: total electric beds (see the next section), bed boards and over-bed tables (not primarily medical in nature), and a trapeze attached to an ordinary bed (A52508). This guide doesn’t cover pressure-relief mattresses and overlays.

Who qualifies for a hospital bed under Medicare?

For a fixed-height bed, the most basic type, your medical records must show at least one of the following (L33820):

1. You have a medical condition that requires positioning your body in ways that aren’t feasible with an ordinary bed. (The policy notes that raising the head or upper body less than 30 degrees doesn’t usually require a hospital bed.)
2. You need positioning that isn’t feasible in an ordinary bed in order to relieve pain.
3. You need the head of the bed raised more than 30 degrees most of the time because of congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease, or problems with aspiration.
4. You need traction equipment that can only be attached to a hospital bed.

Every other covered bed type requires one of those four plus its own extra condition, shown in the table above. For example, a semi-electric bed also requires a need for frequent changes in body position, or an immediate need to change position. A variable-height bed also requires that you need a different bed height to get to a chair, a wheelchair, or a standing position.

These are documentation requirements. The supplier needs your medical records to show them, so it helps to tell your practitioner specifically what you can’t do in your current bed.

Semi-electric vs full-electric: the rule that surprises families

Most home hospital beds today are sold as either semi-electric or full-electric:

• Semi-electric: the head and foot sections move with a motor; the height is adjusted with a hand crank. Medicare covers these when you meet the criteria.
• Total electric (full-electric): a motor also raises and lowers the whole bed. Medicare does not cover these. The coverage policy says “the height adjustment feature is a convenience feature” and that total electric beds “will be denied as not reasonable and necessary” (L33820).

That doesn’t mean you can’t get one. Medicare’s equipment contractors treat a full-electric bed as an upgrade: “When a fully electronic hospital bed is provided, this is always an upgrade situation” (Noridian). An upgrade can work two ways:

• You pay the difference. To charge you for the upgrade, the supplier must have you sign a properly completed Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN). Medicare then pays for the covered item (a semi-electric bed, if you qualify for one), and you pay the difference between the upgraded bed’s charge and the covered bed’s charge, plus your usual deductible and coinsurance.
• The supplier provides it at no extra charge. A supplier can choose to provide the upgrade free, billing it with special modifiers, and then no ABN is needed.

Source: Noridian upgrades guidance; the policy article says full-electric beds must always be billed with upgrade modifiers (A52508).

What this means for furniture-style beds. The residential-looking hi-low beds in our furniture-style guide have powered height, head, and foot. By Medicare’s definitions, that makes them total electric beds, and many are sold directly by manufacturers rather than through Medicare suppliers. Plan on paying privately for them. Our cost section covers buying, renting, and other ways to pay.

How to get a hospital bed through Medicare, step by step

1. Talk to your treating practitioner. Explain what’s hard about your current bed: positioning, pain, breathing while lying flat, getting in and out. The practitioner decides whether a hospital bed is medically necessary and which type, and documents the reasons in your medical record.
2. Get the order. Medicare requires a Standard Written Order before the supplier bills Medicare. It must include (CGS checklist):
   • your name or Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI),
   • a general description of the item,
   • the order date,
   • the treating practitioner’s name or NPI, and
   • the practitioner’s signature.
3. Check whether a face-to-face visit is needed first. Some bed codes require a face-to-face encounter with your practitioner and a signed written order before delivery. Since August 12, 2024, that includes codes E0290, E0301, and E0304 (a fixed-height bed and two heavy-duty beds) (CGS checklist; CMS list). The supplier should tell you if this applies.
4. Choose a Medicare-enrolled supplier. Search Medicare’s supplier directory by ZIP code. Ask:
   • “Are you enrolled in Medicare, and do you accept assignment?”
   • “Will you accept assignment for every rental month?” If not, you may have to pay the full cost upfront and wait for Medicare to reimburse you (Medicare.gov).
   • “Which bed type and code are you supplying, and is anything an upgrade I’d pay extra for?”
5. Take delivery. The supplier must keep proof of delivery (L33820), so expect to sign for the bed. Before the delivery team leaves, check that the mattress fits snugly and the rails are installed correctly; our sizes guide explains why fit matters.
6. Watch your Medicare Summary Notice. It shows what was billed and what you owe. If something was denied, the notice tells you how and by when to appeal.

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, call the plan before step 4. It may require a network supplier and prior authorization.

How much will you pay?

With Original Medicare:

• Part B deductible: $283 in 2026 (CMS).
• Then 20% coinsurance of the Medicare-approved amount, if your supplier accepts assignment (Medicare.gov). A supplier that participates in Medicare must accept assignment, which means it can charge you only the deductible and coinsurance.
• If the supplier doesn’t accept assignment, it may charge more.

Because the bed is rented, that 20% applies to each monthly rental payment. Medicare sets each month’s rental at 10% of the bed’s purchase price for months 1 to 3 and 7.5% for months 4 to 13 (Noridian). The approved amount depends on the type of bed, so ask the supplier what the Medicare-approved monthly amount is and what your share will be.

Medigap (Medicare Supplement Insurance) can help pay the 20% coinsurance. Medicare Advantage plans set their own costs (Medicare.gov).

Rent or own? How Medicare’s 13-month rule works

Medicare pays for hospital beds as capped rental items: it makes monthly payments “for a period of continuous use not to exceed 13 months” (CMS). Here is what that means in practice:

• After 13 paid months, you own the bed. From then on, Medicare pays for reasonable and necessary maintenance and servicing, meaning parts and labor not covered by a warranty (Noridian).
• Switching suppliers or moving during the 13 months doesn’t restart the count (Noridian).
• A hospital or nursing facility stay pauses things. The supplier can pick up the bed while you’re in the facility, and it must bring the bed back when you return home if your period of continuous use hasn’t ended. A break of less than 60 consecutive days, plus the rest of the rental month, doesn’t end the period. If your need for the bed ends and the break lasts longer than that, the period ends; a new 13-month period then requires a new prescription, new documentation, and a statement explaining why the bed wasn’t needed during the stay (CMS).

For a comparison of renting and buying outside Medicare, see our cost section.

Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and hospice

• Medicare Advantage (Part C): plans must cover all medically necessary services that Original Medicare covers, but they may require network providers and prior authorization, and costs vary by plan. Original Medicare generally doesn’t require prior authorization (Medicare.gov).
• Medigap: helps pay Original Medicare’s out-of-pocket costs, such as the 20% coinsurance (Medicare.gov).
• Hospice: if you elect Medicare’s hospice benefit, Medicare lists medical equipment among the services hospice provides for the terminal illness and related conditions, and you pay nothing for covered hospice services. Care must come from or be arranged by the hospice team, so ask them about a bed (Medicare.gov hospice; hospice booklet).

What if Medicare denies coverage?

First, find out why: your Medicare Summary Notice and your supplier can tell you. If your records didn’t show that you meet the criteria, your practitioner may be able to add documentation. You can also appeal. Original Medicare has five appeal levels (Medicare.gov):

1. Redetermination: request it by the date on your Medicare Summary Notice. A decision usually comes within 60 days.
2. Reconsideration: if you disagree, you have 180 days to ask for this next level.
3. Higher levels follow if needed.

Checklist: before the bed arrives

1. My practitioner has documented why I need a hospital bed, including which criteria I meet.
2. I have, or the supplier has, a Standard Written Order with all five required elements.
3. If my bed code needs a face-to-face visit and an order before delivery, both are done.
4. My supplier is Medicare-enrolled and will accept assignment for every rental month.
5. I know which bed type and code I’m getting, and whether anything is an upgrade I’ll pay for.
6. If I chose an upgrade, I’ve read the ABN and know the extra cost.
7. If I have Medicare Advantage, I’ve confirmed the supplier is in network and any prior authorization is approved.
8. I know where the bed will go and that it fits (room-fit checker).

How we researched this guide

We read the Medicare coverage policy for hospital beds (LCD L33820 and article A52508), contractor guidance from CGS and Noridian, CMS payment rules, and Medicare.gov’s beneficiary pages. All were accessed on October 6, 2026. Rules and dollar amounts change, often each January, so check the linked sources or ask your supplier for current figures. We are not affiliated with Medicare. See our editorial policy.