Funding programs in Alberta for hospital beds, mattresses, lifts and cushions

How to read this page

We can’t tell you which program will pay. This page shows you where to ask, and what to ask.

It lists programs that help pay for equipment, and the public programs you may need to go through first.

• Listed in its own document means we read the program’s own page or document. The entry says what it names, in its words where the type matters.
• Worth asking means the program exists and may help, but we have not established what it covers. The entry gives who it is for and its official link.
• Other help with costs covers home changes, travel, vehicles, taxes, work and local service clubs. Most of these do not pay for a mattress, a hospital bed, a lift or a cushion.

The labels show the equipment a program’s document names. A program naming a kind of equipment does not mean a particular product is covered: the program decides. A mattress and an overlay are different things, and so are a bed and its mattress, so ask about the exact equipment your clinician recommends.

• Powered mattress or surface
• Pressure or therapeutic mattress
• Mattress overlay
• Hospital bed
• Lift
• Sling
• Positioning

Private insurance and workplace plans are on their own page: workplace and retiree plans. Start there if the person, or their spouse or common-law partner, has ever had benefits through work.

• Listed in its own document

  Alberta Aids to Daily Living (AADL)

  • Pressure or therapeutic mattress
  • Mattress overlay
  • Hospital bed

  Alberta residents living at home with a long-term disability, chronic illness or terminal illness.

  AADL’s product lists include an alternating-air mattress overlay, and a “pressure relief mattress” supplied with an AADL homecare bed. A powered replacement mattress is not on its lists. Each item has its own eligibility rules.

  Assessment and authorization come first. AADL does not pay people back for equipment bought before them.

  Read our page on this program →

  Official source: alberta.caChecked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Alberta Aids to Daily Living (AADL): homecare beds

  • Pressure or therapeutic mattress
  • Hospital bed

  AADL clients who live at home or in supportive living, cannot get in and out of bed or change position in bed because of a long-term mobility impairment, and are palliative or spend 80 per cent or more of the day in bed.

  An AADL homecare bed comes with a bed frame, bed rails and either a mattress or a foam underlay that goes under a mattress overlay. The product list has a powered homecare bed and a “pressure relief mattress”, 6 inches deep, for people at risk of skin breakdown; it does not say what type of mattress that is. It does not list a powered mattress. AADL’s web page calls the same item a “pressure reduction mattress”.

  An AADL authorizer (an occupational therapist, physiotherapist or registered nurse) must assess the person in their home and confirm eligibility first. Beds are supplied from AADL’s recycled stock first, and there is one vendor for homecare beds. AADL does not pay rental charges for short-term needs.

  Read our page on this program →

  Official source: open.alberta.caProgram Manual Section L: September 25, 2026, effective October 1, 2026. Approved Product List BL:…Checked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Alberta Aids to Daily Living (AADL): lifters and slings

  • Lift
  • Sling

  AADL clients who live at home or in supportive living, cannot safely move from one position to another because of a long-term mobility impairment, and have no other lifter.

  AADL funds a portable overhead lifter or a floor lifter, and slings. Its limits are one lifter in four years and two slings every four years. For an overhead lifter, the client must already have funding for the ceiling track and is responsible for having it installed.

  An AADL authorizer must assess the person in their home and confirm eligibility first. A lifter can be tried for up to two days through an AADL vendor. Lifters are supplied from AADL’s recycled stock first.

  Read our page on this program →

  Official source: open.alberta.caProgram Manual Section L: September 25, 2026, effective October 1, 2026.Checked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta (WCB)

  • Pressure or therapeutic mattress
  • Mattress overlay
  • Hospital bed
  • Lift

  Workers whose need comes from a compensable (accepted) work injury. The procedure says severely injured workers who are immobile for long periods and at risk of skin breakdown may be eligible for a bed or mattress.

  WCB’s procedure covers hospital-style beds and mattresses, which it calls “non-specialty”, and “specialty” beds and mattresses, which it reserves for conditions such as bariatric needs and advanced pressure or sore prevention. It does not say what type a specialty mattress is. It names a mattress overlay as related equipment, and patient lifts among the equipment it takes back for reuse.

  WCB must approve the request before delivery is arranged. An occupational therapist’s assessment is needed for a hospital-style bed or mattress, and a wound care nurse’s or occupational therapist’s assessment for a specialty one. WCB checks its recycled equipment first, and a WCB-approved vendor supplies the bed or mattress.

  Official source: wcb.ab.caPublished October 1, 2026Checked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Auto insurance accident benefits (Section B)

  People injured in an accident involving an automobile who are insured under the accident benefits (Section B) of an Alberta auto policy.

  The regulation does not name a mattress, a hospital bed or a lift. Its medical payments cover reasonable expenses for services and supplies, “including any medically necessary equipment”, that the person’s physician and the insurer’s medical advisor both consider essential for treatment or rehabilitation. Alberta’s page says that “Starting January 1, 2027, Alberta’s new auto insurance system will put care first”; this entry describes the rules before then.

  The regulation does not set out an approval step before buying. It pays only what both the person’s physician and the insurer’s medical advisor consider essential.

  Official source: kings-printer.alberta.caOffice consolidation, current as of November 1, 2020Checked November 12, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  AISH and ADAP personal benefits: medical equipment

  People who receive Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) or the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), and their dependent children, when the item is not available from any other program or source.

  The policy does not name a mattress, a hospital bed or a lift. It covers “medical equipment”, which it describes as a durable item to manage a specific medical condition, and it must be the least cost alternative. AISH’s page says this is for medical equipment not available through AADL, private insurance or temporary equipment loan programs.

  A letter from a healthcare professional is needed, explaining the medical condition, the expected benefit and how long the equipment will be needed. Two vendor quotes may be required.

  Official source: manuals.alberta.caPolicy page last updated July 2, 2026Checked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Special Needs Assistance for Seniors

  Alberta residents aged 65 or older with a low income who have applied for Seniors Financial Assistance.

  The program’s list of eligible items does not include a hospital bed, a pressure relief mattress or a lift. Its health supports are a CPAP machine, diabetes supplies, nutritional beverages, podiatry and prescription costs. Under appliances and furniture, beside a washer, refrigerator and stove, it lists a “Bed” that “Includes mattress and frame”; it does not describe this as a hospital bed or a medical mattress.

  Enrol in the seniors financial assistance programs first: the page says items bought before enrolment are not eligible. A receipt or estimate is needed for each request.

  Official source: alberta.caChecked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Alberta Health Services: Equipment Loan Program

  • Hospital bed

  People who are recovering from surgery or need palliative care and want to live in their own homes.

  The service listing names hospital beds among its short-term loans, along with wheelchairs, walkers and bathroom equipment. It does not name a mattress or a lift.

  Contact the Continuing Care Access Line. A security deposit may be required.

  Official source: albertahealthservices.caChecked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Palliative Coverage Program

  Albertans diagnosed as palliative who remain at home or in a hospice. People living in a type A continuing care home (long-term care) or in hospital are not eligible.

  The program’s benefits are prescription drugs, diabetes supplies and ambulance services. Its page does not list a mattress, a hospital bed or a lift as a benefit, and says infusion equipment and supplies are not covered.

  The patient (or guardian) and a physician or nurse practitioner both complete and sign the application form.

  Official source: alberta.caChecked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD)

  Families of children with disabilities who are eligible for the FSCD program.

  FSCD’s page says the program does not “provide equipment covered through Alberta Aids to Daily Living”. Its medical benefits policy covers medical supplies and prescription drugs. Neither names a mattress, a hospital bed or a lift.

  A medical benefit request must be approved, and other programs and insurance plans must be explored first.

  Official source: alberta.caChecked November 11, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Alberta Aids to Daily Living (AADL): pediatric equipment

  Albertans under 18 with a chronic, long-term difficulty with mobility, assessed by an AADL authorizer.

  AADL’s pediatric list includes positioning aids for sitting, such as feeder seats and floor sitters. These are seating; the list does not include positioning for lying in bed. Only items on its approved list are funded.

  An AADL authorizer must decide eligibility before anything is authorized.

  Read our page on this program →

  Official source: open.alberta.caChecked November 12, 2026

• Listed in its own document

  Children’s Ability Fund

  • Hospital bed
  • Lift

  Children and young adults up to age 21 with disabilities who live in Alberta, are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and show financial need.

  Its page gives “overhead lift systems” and “hospital beds” among examples of the equipment an application may ask for, with a guideline maximum of $10,000. It names no mattress or sling.

  When read on November 12, 2026, its page said it is not currently accepting applications.

  Official source: childrensabilityfund.caChecked November 12, 2026

Private insurance in Alberta: see workplace and retiree plans, which also covers the insurers.

If a program is missing

This list is not complete. If a program is missing, ask your clinician or your local home and community care service which programs apply, and ask each one the same three questions.

Back to help paying for equipment, for the three questions, the question to copy and the worksheet.