Nobody shops for a hospital bed for fun. If you're reading this, someone is coming home from hospital and you're trying to work out what this is going to cost.
So here are our actual numbers, up front.
Our hospital bed rental rates
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Full electric hospital bed — monthly rental | $399/month |
| Mattress — monthly rental | $79/month |
| Bed + mattress together | $478/month |
| Delivery | Free — same-day available |
| Installation & setup | Free — included |
| Purchase (current promotion) | $1,999 |
Same-day free delivery and installation available in Surrey, White Rock, South Surrey, Langley, Burnaby, Richmond and Abbotsford. Next-day delivery standard elsewhere in the Lower Mainland.
The four-month rule
Here's the calculation most families don't do until it's too late.
Renting a bed and mattress costs $478 per month. Buying the bed outright on our current promotion costs $1,999.
That's a break-even point of roughly four months.
So the decision gets fairly simple:
- Under 4 months of expected need? Renting almost certainly makes more sense.
- More than 4 months? You'll likely spend more renting than buying.
- Genuinely uncertain? Rent. You can always buy later, and you avoid committing to equipment before you know whether it's the right fit.
The hard part is that families are usually asked to make this decision during a hospital discharge, when nobody can say confidently whether recovery will take six weeks or six months. If that's you, rent — the flexibility is worth more than optimizing the last few hundred dollars.
What's actually included
When comparing quotes between suppliers, the sticker price is rarely the whole story. Ask specifically about:
- Delivery — ours is free; many suppliers charge separately
- Setup and assembly — ours is included. A hospital bed is not something you want to assemble yourself at 9pm the night before a discharge
- The mattress — frequently quoted separately, as ours is above
- Pickup at the end of the rental
- Extending the rental — what happens if recovery takes longer than expected
- Minimum rental terms
A quote that looks cheaper per month can easily end up costing more once delivery, setup and mattress are added on.
Manual, semi-electric or full electric?
Three broad categories exist:
- Manual — hand-crank adjustment. Cheapest, but someone physically cranks it several times a day.
- Semi-electric — head and foot adjust electrically; height is manual.
- Full electric — head, foot and height all motorized.
Height adjustment matters more than most people expect. It's what protects a caregiver's back during transfers, and what lets the bed sit low for fall prevention. If there's a caregiver involved daily, full electric is usually worth it.
What about funding?
MSP does not generally cover hospital beds or other home medical equipment in BC. Funding typically comes through Ministry programs (BCEA/PWD), extended health plans, ICBC or WorkSafeBC depending on your circumstances — and Ministry funding usually requires a prescription and pre-approval before purchase.
Because approvals take time and discharge dates don't wait, renting is often the practical bridge: it covers the immediate need while an application proceeds.
We've written a fuller guide to this: Does MSP Cover Medical Equipment in BC?
A note on timing
Hospital discharge timelines are frequently shorter than families expect. If you've been given a discharge date, arrange equipment immediately rather than after — availability and delivery scheduling are real constraints, particularly for full electric beds.
Must Medical Equipment delivers and installs hospital beds across the Lower Mainland, with free same-day delivery and setup in Surrey, White Rock, South Surrey, Langley, Burnaby, Richmond and Abbotsford. Call 604-240-2450 to check availability.
Pricing shown is current at time of publication and subject to change. Call to confirm.