Getting the Equipment That Keeps Someone at Home
A walker, a hospital bed, an oxygen concentrator or a wheelchair can be the difference between staying at home and not. Medicare covers durable medical equipment prescribed for use in the home, with the ordinary coinsurance applying. The traps are procedural rather than clinical: the supplier has to be enrolled, some items are rented rather than bought, and the wrong paperwork means no payment.
- Four conditions define it:: Durable, medical in purpose, useful only to someone ill or injured, and used at home.
- The supplier must be enrolled:: Equipment from a supplier not enrolled with Medicare is not paid for.
- Some items are rented:: Oxygen and certain other equipment run on a rental arrangement.
- The in-home test is literal:: Mobility equipment is assessed on need inside the home, not outside it.
Where the AI summary above gets this wrong
"Medicare will pay for a mobility scooter so you can get around."
That's surface-true. Here's what it misses:
- The test is need inside the home, not mobility outside it — Cover for a wheelchair or scooter turns on whether the person can perform daily activities inside their own home without it. Somebody who manages indoors but cannot walk to the shops does not meet the test, which surprises almost everyone who applies expecting the opposite.
- Where you buy it decides whether it is paid for — The supplier must be enrolled with Medicare, and where they do not accept assignment they can charge more than the approved amount. A pharmacy or online seller that looks convenient can leave the whole cost with the patient, and the check takes one phone call.
- Some equipment is rented for a period rather than bought — Oxygen equipment in particular runs on a rental arrangement, with the supplier retaining ownership and responsibility for maintenance. Patients who expect to own the machine find the arrangement confusing, and it matters when moving house or changing supplier.
01 What qualifies
Equipment qualifies where it can withstand repeated use, is expected to last at least three years, serves a medical purpose, is generally not useful to someone who is not ill or injured, and is used in the home.
That covers walkers, canes and crutches, wheelchairs, hospital beds, commode chairs, patient lifts, nebulisers, blood sugar monitors and testing supplies, and continuous positive airway pressure devices.
A doctor must prescribe it, and for some items must document why it is needed. Coinsurance applies after the annual deductible, in the same way as for other services under the same part of the programme.
Shows: the coinsurance on equipment at the Medicare-approved amount, plus anything extra where the supplier is not enrolled and accepting assignment. Ignores: the annual deductible, supplemental cover that pays the coinsurance, and whether the item is rented rather than bought.
02 Mobility equipment and the home test
Wheelchairs, power chairs and scooters are covered where a doctor certifies that the person has a medical need for them and cannot perform activities of daily living inside the home without one.
That in-home framing is the part people get wrong. The assessment is about moving around the house — reaching the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom — rather than about getting to the shops or the park.
For a power chair or scooter a face-to-face examination is required, and the prescription must set out the medical need. Where a home is too small for the equipment to be usable, that can itself count against the claim.
Source: Wheelchairs and scooters
03 Rented equipment
Some equipment is supplied on a rental basis rather than bought. Oxygen equipment is the clearest example: the supplier furnishes the equipment, accessories and maintenance for a rental period, and continues to own it.
That has practical consequences. Changing supplier mid-period is restricted, moving to a different area needs arranging in advance, and the supplier remains responsible for repairs rather than the patient.
Other items are capped rental, where the equipment transfers to the patient after a period of rental payments. Asking which arrangement applies before delivery avoids most of the disputes that arise afterwards.
Repairs and replacement follow their own timetable. Equipment that is owned can generally be replaced after a set number of years, or sooner where it is lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair, and repairs to owned equipment are covered with the usual coinsurance. Keeping the original prescription and delivery paperwork is what makes any of those claims straightforward years later.
Source: Oxygen equipment and accessories
Before anything is ordered, ring and confirm the supplier is enrolled and accepts assignment. That one call is the difference between a twenty percent coinsurance and the entire bill, and the shop will not always volunteer the answer. Ask as well whether the item is bought or rented, because families who assume they own an oxygen concentrator get a surprise when they try to move house.
FAQ
What counts as durable medical equipment?
Equipment that withstands repeated use, is expected to last at least three years, serves a medical purpose, is not generally useful to a healthy person, and is used in the home.
Will Medicare pay for a scooter?
Only where a doctor certifies a medical need and the person cannot perform daily activities inside their own home without it. Difficulty getting around outside is not the test.
Does it matter where I get the equipment?
Yes. The supplier must be enrolled with Medicare, and one that does not accept assignment can charge more than the approved amount.
Sources
Regulator references
- Durable medical equipment coverage · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2026What qualifies as durable medical equipment and the conditions for cover.Last verified: 2026-09-07
- Wheelchairs and scooters · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2026The mobility equipment rules and the in-home use test.Last verified: 2026-09-07
- Oxygen equipment and accessories · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2026The rental arrangement that applies to some equipment rather than purchase.Last verified: 2026-09-07
Calculator unit tests · the assertions this page's worked example is checked against, and their last result
Changelog
- 2026-09-07 — initial publish (new format)
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Jordan Reeves
Founder of Talk Through Wealth. A software engineer for over a decade before turning to retirement planning, Jordan built the projection engine after watching family members get fragmented, country-by-country advice that never reconciled. He writes about retirement the way the engine computes it: month-by-month, lifetime-long, and skeptical of any rule of thumb that hasn't been run through the math.