Everything you need to know about Hospital Beds

Hospital Beds can be very beneficial for people who have difficulty getting in and out of Bed. In our blog today we are going to touch base on the options and features a bed has and also talk about the qualifications of a Hospital Bed.

Types of Hospital Beds

 There are many types of Hospital Beds, Semi Electric, Fully Electric, Bariatric Beds, the list goes on and on. One of the biggest differences are the hospital beds in the hospital and the ones that are in individuals homes (homecare beds).

The beds you typically see in a hospital setting have all the bells and whistles are not the ones you will get at home. The one you will get at home is a semi-electric hospital bed. This means that head and the feet will raise up and down the height of the overall bed will not. A fully electric bed will raise the overall height but they are not covered by most all insurance companies. 

Home Care Bed

The Mattresses will be different than what you might have laid on in the hospital. Hospitals typically offer a foam mattress and these mattresses come in different types of foam so they can vary. Typically when getting a home care bed through your insurance you will get an inner spring mattress which is a lot different feeling than the foam mattress at the hospital you have been laying on. I will note that you can add a gel overlay or a low air loss mattress if you meet the qualifications for them and they do feel better than the inner spring mattress.

 Inner Spring Mattress

 Foam Mattress

The Rails come in half or full lengths. They raise up and down and are easy to use. They also make rails for regular beds. They fit between the box springs and the mattress.

Below I have attached a link to show you what Medicare’s criteria is for a hospital bed. You will have a page pop us asking you to agree to reading the information. When you click on the link you will go about Half way down and the the qualifications will be right there.

https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/lcd-details.aspx?LCDId=33820

The criteria for a hospital bed is very tough to qualify for, just because your doctor wrote an order and said you can get one doesn’t mean anything. The insurance companies have the final say so and not your doctor. You will need lots of notes stating why the hospital bed is needed and the order form (prescription) is not good enough. I hope you find this helpful and please feel free to share.