How much does a hospital bed cost in BC? New, used and rental prices

What a new hospital bed costs

Retailers' own cost guides put a new full-electric home hospital bed at roughly $2,000 to $6,000 in Canada, with bariatric (wide, high-capacity) beds at $4,500 to $9,000 and budget imported beds starting around $1,000. A typical full-electric package from an online Canadian retailer — bed, foam mattress, half rails — lists at about $2,500 to $3,000. Premium "adjustable bed" brands that look like furniture rather than hospital equipment cost more again.

Two things are easy to miss in a new price. Delivery and assembly are often extra, and the mattress is often not included or is a basic foam one. Add those in before comparing.

What renting costs on Vancouver Island

Rental is the usual answer for a short, defined need — recovery from surgery, a few weeks of palliative care at home. As a benchmark, Island Mediquip publishes its rental rates: a full-electric bed with foam mattress and half rails at $200 a week or $275 a month, plus a delivery charge that starts at $150 within 50 km and rises with distance. So the first month is around $425 in Greater Victoria, and each further month adds $275.

Rental makes sense when the need is genuinely short or uncertain. It stops making sense quickly: at $275 a month, four months of rental is $1,100 before delivery, which is roughly the price of a used bed you then own.

What a used hospital bed costs

There are two used markets, and they are not the same thing.

Private sale — Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist — is the cheapest. Full-electric beds are commonly listed at $400 to $1,200. You collect it yourself, you assemble it yourself, and nobody has checked the motors, the handset or the frame. A bed that does not go up and down when it arrives in your bedroom is a heavy problem.

Used, inspected and serviced — what we sell — is $900 to $2,000 for a full-electric bed, depending on the make, model and features, with the price on every listing. That includes a function check under load, a frame and hardware inspection, worn parts replaced, professional cleaning and disinfection, and honest condition notes. Delivery and setup is $150 in Greater Victoria, $200 in Nanaimo and $350 in Vancouver, one charge however many items are on the order, and the bed is assembled, plugged in and tested in the room.

What changes the price

• Full-electric vs semi-electric. On a semi-electric bed the height is a hand crank. Full-electric moves head, foot and height on the handset and is what caregivers actually need. Everything we sell is full-electric.
• Low beds. A bed that drops to 7–9" from the floor, for someone at risk of rolling out, costs more than a standard frame.
• Width and capacity. A standard bed is 36" wide, rated around 350–450 lb. Full (42–48") and bariatric frames cost more and need more room.
• Rails. Half rails, full rails or none. Often included; sometimes not.
• Mattress. A standard hospital foam mattress is inexpensive; a pressure-relief air mattress with a pump can cost as much as the bed. Check what is included.
• Brand. Joerns, Invacare, Medline, Permobil and similar hold their value because parts and service are available. That is also why they are what we buy and sell.

Rent or buy?

A rough rule: if the bed will be needed for less than three months, rent, or ask whether a Red Cross or health-authority loan applies (see the funding guide). If it will be needed for longer than about four months, or the length of need is open-ended, a used bed you own is almost always cheaper, and it has resale value afterwards — we buy back full-electric beds in good condition.

Tax on hospital beds in BC

Two rules worth knowing. Under BC's PST bulletin on medical supplies (PST 207), hospital-style beds are PST-exempt when sold on prescription; without one they are taxable. Federally, a hospital bed is GST zero-rated when supplied on the written order of a medical practitioner. The bulletin does not distinguish new from used. If you have a prescription for the bed, tell us when you order. Our online checkout charges GST on the delivery fee only; we are not tax advisors, so confirm anything that matters to you with the program or your accountant.

Funding that may apply

MSP does not pay for equipment and PharmaCare does not fund beds. The programs that can are the Ministry of Social Development's medical equipment benefit for people on disability assistance (hospital bed limit $3,000, with a prescription and therapist assessment), Veterans Affairs for eligible veterans, WorkSafeBC and ICBC for accepted claims, and extended health plans with pre-authorisation. The funding guide goes through each.