Rent vs. buy: knee scooter, ice machine, hospital bed

Reviewed by Erin Rose — healthcare price-transparency analyst. Last checked July 27, 2026.

These three are the priciest optional items on the full knee-replacement checklist — "optional" being the key word. Below is the break-even math for the two you might pay cash for, plus what Medicare's fee schedule says about the hospital bed, which isn't really a rent-vs-buy decision at all.

Do you need any of these three at all?

Not necessarily. The checklist flags a knee scooter as not part of a standard equipment list, and a hospital bed as needed "only if stairs are a problem — most people don't need this." The cold-therapy machine is in the same optional bucket: it's a real cost premium over a bag of gel packs. The realistic default for most people is a walker (already covered with a prescription) and a couple of gel ice packs, full stop. Everything below assumes you're past that default.

Knee scooter: is it cheaper to rent or buy?

Medicare doesn't factor in either way. The closest HCPCS match, E0118 ("crutch substitute, lower leg platform"), shows zero Medicare claims nationally in DY2024 and no fee-schedule entry — it's a cash item regardless.

The math is simple on purpose: weeks to break even = buy price ÷ weekly rental price. All three buy prices above are live, verified prices from /gear/knee-scooters/ (checked July 27, 2026). Renting also means you're not stuck reselling a scooter you'll never use again.

Ice machine: rent, buy, or just use gel packs?

Same starting point as the scooter — no HCPCS code, no fee-schedule entry, no Medicare claims data either way. This is a pure cash call, and the cheapest real option is gel ice packs, $15–$30 for two to four packs — buy enough that one is always in the freezer.

If you're considering an actual cold-therapy (cryo) machine, here's what one real vendor charges — an illustration of the decision, not a universal rate:

Given how close that math runs, gel packs first is the honest starting move — upgrade only if manual icing turns out not to be enough. See /gear/ice-therapy-machines/ for verified picks.

What does Medicare actually pay toward a hospital bed?

Briefly, because most people don't need one: if your bedroom is up a flight of stairs you can't manage the first week, a semi-electric hospital bed (E0260) is the code your prescription would cover.

Same coverage terms as the rest of the checklist: 20% coinsurance and the Part B deductible apply, and the supplier has to be Medicare-enrolled. A typical 4–6 week recovery is one or two months into a 13-month clock — so you'd pay roughly 20% of one or two months' rental, not a lump purchase. We didn't find a sourced retail price for a standalone home hospital bed outside the Medicare/DME path, so it's left out rather than guessed.

What about borrowing or buying secondhand?

Borrowing a knee scooter from someone who's already had this surgery is common and free — same for a cold-therapy machine if you know someone with one in a closet. Before you accept anything secondhand, check the brand and model against a recall database first.