Quick Answer
Medicare Part B covers durable medical equipment (DME) — hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers, commodes, patient lifts and more — at 80% of the Medicare-approved amount after the $283 annual deductible (2026). Two requirements decide everything: a prescription from a Medicare-enrolled provider and equipment from a Medicare-enrolled supplier. Before buying anything, search the official directory at medicare.gov/medical-equipment-suppliers — get it covered if you can. What's famously not covered: grab bars, most bathroom safety equipment, stair lifts, and the chair part of lift chairs.
Table of Contents
How Part B Equipment Coverage Works
Medicare Part B (the part that covers doctor visits) is also the part that covers durable medical equipment — equipment that is primarily medical in purpose, can withstand repeated use, is appropriate for use in the home, and is expected to last years rather than weeks. That definition matters, because it's the reason some items are covered and others aren't (more on that below).
The math, for covered equipment
First, the Part B deductible: $283 (2026)
This is an annual deductible shared across all Part B services — doctor visits, outpatient care, and equipment. If it's already been met this year by other medical bills, it doesn't apply again to the equipment.
Then Medicare pays 80% of the Medicare-approved amount
The "approved amount" is Medicare's set price for the item — often lower than retail. You owe the remaining 20% coinsurance. A Medigap (supplement) policy, retiree coverage, or Medicaid often picks up that 20%.
Medicare Advantage works differently
MA plans must cover at least what Original Medicare covers, but they usually require prior authorization and their own contracted suppliers, and copays vary by plan. If your loved one has an Advantage plan, call the plan before ordering anything — the discharge planner or supplier can often handle the authorization for you.
If the equipment is needed right after a hospital stay, read this alongside our hospital discharge equipment checklist — it walks room by room through what to have ready before your loved one comes home.
The Two Requirements That Decide Everything
Most equipment denials aren't about whether the item is covered — they're about who prescribed it and where it was bought. Both boxes must be checked or Medicare pays nothing:
1. A prescription from a Medicare-enrolled provider
The doctor (or nurse practitioner / physician assistant) who writes the order must be enrolled in Medicare, and the order must document why the equipment is medically necessary for use in the home. Hospital and clinic physicians almost always qualify — but if a denial comes back citing the prescriber, this is why. Some items, like power wheelchairs, also require a face-to-face exam before the order.
2. Equipment from a Medicare-enrolled supplier
Buy a hospital bed from a random online store and Medicare will not reimburse a cent, no matter how valid the prescription. The supplier must be enrolled in Medicare — and ideally should "accept assignment," meaning it charges only the Medicare-approved amount so your share stays at 20%. Enrolled suppliers that don't accept assignment can charge you more.
Start here: the official supplier directory
Medicare maintains a searchable directory of enrolled equipment suppliers. Search by ZIP code and equipment type, then call to confirm they accept assignment and can deliver on your timeline:
medicare.gov/medical-equipment-suppliers →If a hospital discharge is in motion, ask the discharge planner which supplier they're ordering through — hospitals have standing relationships and can usually get covered equipment delivered to the house before the patient arrives.
What Medicare Typically Covers
With a valid order and an enrolled supplier, Part B routinely covers the workhorse equipment of home care. Coverage always depends on documented medical need — the doctor's order has to explain why the item is required — but these are the categories families most often get covered:
- ✓Walkers, rollators, canes, and crutches — the most commonly covered items.
- ✓Manual wheelchairs, and power wheelchairs or scooters when the person can't manage a manual chair (extra documentation and a face-to-face exam required).
- ✓Hospital beds — when the doctor documents a medical reason a regular bed won't work (positioning needs, safety, attached equipment).
- ✓Pressure-reducing support surfaces (special mattresses and overlays) for people with, or at high risk of, pressure injuries.
- ✓Commode chairs — when the person is confined to a bedroom or can't safely reach the bathroom.
- ✓Patient lifts (hydraulic/mechanical) for transfers when a caregiver can't safely lift the person.
- ✓Oxygen equipment, nebulizers, CPAP/BiPAP machines, infusion pumps, and blood sugar monitors and supplies.
Rule of thumb: if the item treats or manages a medical condition and only a sick or injured person would use it, it's probably DME. If a healthy person might buy the same item for comfort or convenience, Medicare probably calls it "not primarily medical" — which brings us to the list that surprises everyone.
The Famous NOT-Covered List (and Why)
These are the items families assume are covered, find out at checkout they aren't, and feel blindsided. The logic is consistent, if cold: Medicare's DME definition requires equipment to be primarily medical in purpose. Items it deems convenience, comfort, or home modification fall outside the benefit — even when they're clearly what keeps someone safe.
- ✗Grab bars. The single most useful fall-prevention purchase in the house — and Original Medicare calls them "not primarily medical" (a self-help/convenience item). Not covered.
- ✗Most bathroom safety equipment — shower chairs, transfer benches, raised toilet seats, bath lifts, non-slip mats. Same reasoning: deemed convenience items, not medical equipment. (Exception: commode chairs are covered, as above.)
- ✗Stair lifts. Treated as a home modification — a change to the house, not equipment for the patient — so they fall outside the DME benefit entirely. The same goes for ramps, widened doorways, and walk-in tubs.
- ✗The chair part of lift chairs. A genuine half-and-half: with documented medical need, Part B covers the seat-lift mechanism (the motor that tilts the seat to help someone stand) — but not the chair itself, which Medicare considers furniture. Expect to pay most of the sticker price even with approval.
Before you pay out of pocket, check three doors: (1) Medicare Advantage — many MA plans now offer supplemental benefits or quarterly allowances that can include bathroom safety items; call the plan. (2) Medicaid — if your loved one qualifies, state Medicaid programs and home-and-community-based waivers often cover safety equipment and even home modifications that Medicare won't. See our Medicare vs Medicaid guide. (3) The VA — eligible veterans have access to equipment benefits and home-accessibility grants.
What Families Buy Out of Pocket
In practice, most families setting up a home for care end up buying the not-covered safety items themselves: grab bars, a shower chair or transfer bench, a raised toilet seat, a bedside rail, good lighting, and small daily-living aids like reachers and sock aids. Individually most of these are inexpensive; the trap is overbuying before you know what's actually needed.
- ✓Ask the care team first. A home-health physical or occupational therapist (often covered by Medicare after a hospital stay) will walk the house and tell you exactly which items matter for your situation — before you spend anything.
- ✓Compare across at least two retailers. Prices on identical bath-safety and mobility items vary widely. Local pharmacies stock the basics; specialty retailers carry the wider range of sizes and weight capacities.
- ✓Check weight capacity and returns before ordering — bath benches and grab bars have hard weight limits, and opened safety equipment often can't be returned.
Home medical equipment retailers worth comparing
For items Medicare won't cover. We have no stake in which you choose — compare prices, weight capacities, and return policies before ordering, and ask the care team what's actually needed first.
Home medical equipment and daily-living aids — bath safety, mobility, and recovery gear.
Maker of everyday home health aids — canes, bath benches, reachers — also widely stocked at pharmacies.
Online retailer of wheelchairs, scooters, lift chairs, and other home medical equipment.
Online retailer specializing in wheelchairs and related mobility equipment.
Home medical equipment retailer — useful for comparing prices on bigger-ticket items before you buy.
Renting vs. Buying
How Medicare handles it
You usually don't get to choose. Medicare pays for inexpensive items (canes, walkers) as purchases, but pays for most larger equipment — hospital beds, wheelchairs — as a monthly rental through the supplier. For most rented items, after 13 months of continuous rental, ownership transfers to the patient. Oxygen equipment stays on a rental arrangement under its own rules. The supplier handles the billing mechanics; what matters for you is that the 20% coinsurance applies to each rental month.
When you're paying yourself
For a short recovery — weeks, not months — renting from a local medical supply company often beats buying, especially for big-ticket items like hospital beds, knee scooters, and transport wheelchairs. For anything you'll use longer than a few months, buying is usually cheaper, and lightly used equipment is abundant: many communities have medical equipment loan closets (often run by churches, senior centers, or charities) that lend walkers, wheelchairs, and shower chairs free. Call your local Area Agency on Aging and ask — it's the most underused resource in home-care setup.
If Medicare Says No: Appeal Basics
- Know what the ABN means. If a supplier expects Medicare to deny a claim, they should have you sign an Advance Beneficiary Notice (ABN) before delivery. Signing doesn't waive your rights — you can check the box requiring the supplier to submit the claim anyway, so you get an official decision you can appeal.
- Find the denial on the Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) — the quarterly statement of claims (or check anytime at medicare.gov). It states why the claim was denied and how to appeal.
- File a redetermination within 120 days. Follow the MSN's instructions — circling the denied item and writing why you disagree is enough to start. This first appeal level is free and reviewed by a different contractor.
- Fix the paperwork — that's usually the real problem. Most DME denials come down to thin documentation. Ask the prescribing doctor for a detailed letter of medical necessity (the diagnosis, why this equipment, why in the home) and include it with the appeal.
- Get free help. Every state has a SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) with counselors who handle Medicare appeals at no charge — find yours at shiphelp.org.
On a Medicare Advantage plan, the process differs: appeals go through the plan first, and prior-authorization denials often get overturned on appeal — it's nearly always worth filing.
Setting Up Home Care After a Hospital Stay?
Our room-by-room equipment checklist covers what to have ready before discharge day — what insurance typically orders, what you'll buy yourself, and what can wait.
Get the Equipment Checklist →Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Medicare pay for home medical equipment?
Part B pays 80% of the Medicare-approved amount for covered DME after the annual deductible ($283 in 2026). You pay the remaining 20% — unless a Medigap policy or other secondary coverage picks it up. Both the prescriber and the supplier must be enrolled in Medicare, or Medicare pays nothing.
Does Medicare cover grab bars or shower chairs?
No. Original Medicare classifies grab bars, shower chairs, transfer benches, and raised toilet seats as "not primarily medical" — convenience items rather than DME. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer supplemental benefits or allowances that include bathroom safety items, so call the plan before buying out of pocket.
Does Medicare cover lift chairs?
Only partially. With documented medical need, Part B covers the seat-lift mechanism — the motor that tilts the seat to help someone stand — but not the chair itself. Families typically pay most of the chair's price out of pocket even with approval.
Does Medicare cover stair lifts?
Generally no — Medicare treats stair lifts (like ramps and walk-in tubs) as home modifications, not medical equipment. Before paying out of pocket, check Medicaid waiver programs in your state, Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits, and VA grants for eligible veterans.
How do I find a Medicare-approved equipment supplier?
Search the official directory at medicare.gov/medical-equipment-suppliers by ZIP code and equipment type, then call to confirm the supplier is enrolled in Medicare and accepts assignment.
What can I do if Medicare denies coverage?
Appeal. You have 120 days from the Medicare Summary Notice to file a redetermination, and most DME denials are documentation problems — a stronger letter of medical necessity from the doctor fixes many of them. Your state SHIP program offers free appeal help.
Related Guides
Note: This guide is general information, not medical, legal, or insurance advice. Figures reflect CY 2026 Medicare rules and amounts, which change annually. Coverage always depends on individual medical documentation and plan terms — confirm specifics at Medicare.gov, with your plan, and with the discharge planner or care team before making purchase decisions. SunsetWell is independent and not affiliated with Medicare or CMS.