Home Care Resources
Home Care Resources
Insurance rarely covers the full range of mobility, breathing, and hearing devices seniors need. Medical equipment banks offer loans, refurbished devices, and financial help to close that gap.
Staying independent at home gets harder when age brings mobility, breathing, or hearing challenges — and the equipment that helps, known as durable medical equipment, is often expensive and only partially covered by insurance. Roughly 2.5 million Americans rely on DME, yet Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers each apply narrow, inconsistent rules about what they will pay for. Medical equipment banks, many of them state-run Assistive Technology Act Projects created under a 2004 federal law, exist to fill that gap. They offer equipment loans, refurbished devices, demonstrations, training, and financial assistance to help seniors and their families get the tools they actually need, often faster and more affordably than going through insurance alone.
Medical equipment banks — often state Assistive Technology Act Projects — help seniors get wheelchairs, hospital beds, hearing aids, and more through loans, refurbished devices, and financial aid when Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance fall short.
Terminology matters here. Assistive technology (AT) is any device that helps a person with a disability function, from a low-tech cardboard communication board to a special-purpose computer, and it does not need a strict medical purpose. Durable medical equipment (DME) is a narrower category within AT, defined tightly because Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers use that definition to decide what they will pay for.
To qualify as DME, a device generally must withstand repeated use, be expected to last at least three years, serve a medical purpose for someone who is sick or injured, and be appropriate for use in the home. A shower seat, for instance, improves safety but is not classified as DME because it lacks a strictly medical purpose — it counts as AT instead.
DME spans a wide range, from a simple walking cane to an automated insulin pump. Medical supplies, like the tubing a breathing machine needs to run safely, are treated as a separate, non-durable category and are typically not covered the same way DME itself is.
Medicare Part B does cover some DME, but the process can be slow. A doctor must prescribe the equipment, and both the doctor and the DME supplier must be enrolled in Medicare. Coverage also starts with the least expensive option available, so if a senior needs something more advanced, like a motorized wheelchair instead of a manual one, they must return to the doctor for additional documentation before it is approved.
Medicaid coverage depends entirely on the state, since each program defines medical necessity differently, and private insurers frequently base their own policies on the same government definitions. Certain items, including hearing aids and glasses, are commonly excluded from Medicare and Medicaid altogether, along with equipment intended primarily for use outside the home.
With an estimated 2.5 million people nationwide relying on DME, these coverage gaps leave a substantial number of seniors without an easy path to equipment they need. Paying privately is always an option, but with devices like motorized wheelchairs averaging around $7,100, it is out of reach for many families.
Medical equipment banks are government or nonprofit organizations that help people obtain assistive devices through loans, financing, exchanges, and other services. Many operate as Assistive Technology Act Projects, or ATAPs, funded in every state since Congress passed the Assistive Technology Act in 2004. Local nonprofit equipment banks also operate independently alongside these state programs.
A core service is letting people try equipment before committing to it. Banks offer demonstrations of different devices so users can compare brands and styles and decide what actually fits their needs, along with training to help people use their equipment correctly and safely once they have it.
Because equipment banks focus on assistive technology broadly rather than only insurance-defined DME, they can also help seniors access devices that Medicare or Medicaid simply do not cover, filling a real gap left by the traditional insurance system.
| Equipment | Typical Price | Who It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Manual Wheelchair | $1,000-$2,000 | Weak or unusable legs |
| Motorized Wheelchair | ~$7,100 average | Leg and upper body weakness |
| Hospital Bed | $500-$10,000 | Bedsore and continence care |
| Hearing Aids | $100-$5,600 | Not usually covered by Medicare/Medicaid |
Many people know equipment banks as equipment libraries because of their short-term loan programs, which typically run four to six weeks. These loans let someone test a device to see whether it actually meets their needs before buying, or borrow equipment temporarily, such as while recovering from surgery.
Open-ended, longer-term loans exist at some ATAPs, but the source material notes they are relatively rare compared to the standard short-term loan model most programs rely on.
This trial period matters because DME purchases are expensive and not easily returned. Testing a walker or shower chair for a few weeks before buying one, refurbished or new, helps families avoid spending money on equipment that turns out to be the wrong fit.
Equipment banks often accept donated devices, clean and repair them, and then give them away to people in need or sell them at a reduced rate. This refurbishment process also keeps usable equipment out of landfills, and some banks offer ongoing repair services so people can keep using devices longer.
Equipment exchanges, sometimes run as online marketplaces by the equipment bank itself, let people buy, sell, or give away gently used devices directly. Someone who no longer needs a piece of equipment can list it, while someone searching for a lower-cost option can find it there.
Devices obtained through a medical equipment bank are typically sterilized, cleaned, and safety-checked before reaching a new user. If you buy directly from another individual through an exchange listing, you are dealing with them rather than the organization, so it is worth asking the equipment bank what to look for when buying secondhand.
Many equipment banks, particularly government-run ones, offer financial assistance to help people purchase DME outright. This often takes the form of low-interest loans or grant programs, which typically require applicants to meet financial eligibility criteria set by the organization.
Organizations that do not offer loans directly can often point applicants toward alternative financing options elsewhere, so it is worth asking even if a particular equipment bank does not have its own fund.
The stakes are real: a hospital bed can run anywhere from $500 to $10,000, and hearing aids can cost up to $5,600, figures that make financial assistance programs meaningful rather than optional for many low-income seniors.
Qualification rules vary by organization and location, but as a general pattern, advice, demonstrations, and similar guidance-based services are available to anyone regardless of age, income, or disability status, especially through government-run banks.
Programs offering more material help, such as financial assistance or free equipment, are more often limited to low-income residents. Anyone receiving equipment through a short-term loan, funding assistance, or donated device typically also needs to demonstrate a genuine functional need for it.
Every state has an Assistive Technology Act Project, making it the best starting point when searching for DME resources. If a state ATAP cannot meet a specific need directly, it can typically connect families with other local organizations that can.
Many cities and counties also run their own medical equipment banks, alongside independent nonprofits that operate outside the ATAP system. Alabama's STAR program, for example, offers training, demonstrations, and short-term equipment loans as one state-level model of how these resources typically function.
If you or a loved one needs a cane, walker, hospital bed, or hearing aid and insurance is not covering it, the single most useful action is to contact your state's Assistive Technology Act Project. Every state has one, funded under the 2004 Assistive Technology Act, and it exists specifically to connect residents with equipment loans, demonstrations, and financing help.
Before you call, write down exactly what you need and why — for example, whether you need a device permanently or just while recovering from surgery. Short-term loans, often four to six weeks, work well for temporary needs, while financial assistance programs are better suited to something you will use for years.
Ask specifically about eligibility for free or reduced-cost equipment, since many material-assistance programs are limited to low-income applicants who can show a functional need. Even if you do not qualify for free equipment, your ATAP can usually point you toward refurbished devices, equipment exchanges, or low-interest loan programs run by other local organizations.
If your state ATAP cannot meet your specific need, ask for a referral rather than starting your search over. These organizations maintain relationships with local nonprofits, hospitals, and disability service groups precisely because no single program can stock every type of equipment a senior might need.
Insurance rarely covers the full cost or range of durable medical equipment seniors need. Medical equipment banks — often state-run Assistive Technology Act Projects — offer loans, refurbished devices, training, and financial aid to close that gap, usually starting with a call to your state ATAP.
Durable medical equipment can mean the difference between aging at home and losing independence, but insurance rarely covers the full picture — Medicare Part B requires a prescribing doctor, an enrolled supplier, and often extra paperwork for anything beyond the cheapest option, while Medicaid rules shift state to state and commonly-needed items like hearing aids and glasses fall outside coverage entirely. Medical equipment banks, many operating as federally funded Assistive Technology Act Projects since 2004, close that gap through short-term loans, refurbished and exchanged devices, hands-on demonstrations, and financial assistance for those who qualify. Because every program's eligibility and inventory differs, the most reliable move is contacting your state's ATAP directly — it can either help immediately or point you toward a local nonprofit that can.
If a senior's mobility, breathing, or hearing equipment is broken, missing, or was denied by insurance and they are compensating by skipping showers, avoiding stairs, or going without hearing support, do not wait for a routine appointment. Contact your state's ATAP or a local medical equipment bank promptly, since delays in access raise fall and health risks.