Summary & Overview
HCPCS Level II E0290: Hospital Bed, Fixed Height, Without Side Rails
HCPCS Level II code E0290 designates a hospital bed, fixed height, without side rails, supplied with a mattress. Nationally, this HCPCS code matters because it defines coverage and billing for a basic hospital-style bed used in home health and institutional care settings when an adjustable or rail-equipped bed is not required. Proper use of this code affects access to appropriate durable medical equipment and ensures consistent claims processing across payers.
Key payers referenced for national billing conventions include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise breakdown of what E0290 represents clinically and operationally, common payer coverage considerations, and how this equipment fits into broader durable medical equipment service lines.
The publication provides benchmarks and policy context relevant to billing and reimbursement for hospital beds, outlines common use cases and sites of service, and highlights documentation and coding considerations tied to clinical necessity. Data not available in the input will be identified as such in relevant sections.
Billing Code Overview
HCPCS Level II code E0290 describes a hospital bed, fixed height, without side rails, with mattress. This item is categorized as durable medical equipment intended to provide a basic inpatient-style bed for patients who require a standard hospital bed surface.
Service type: Durable medical equipment (hospital bed)
Typical site of service: Home health care, patient residence, or institutional settings where a nonadjustable hospital-style bed is needed
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is an older adult or medically complex individual discharged from an acute care hospital who requires a stable, non-adjustable sleeping surface at home due to limited mobility, frailty, or to facilitate wound care and caregiver transfers. For example, a 78-year-old patient with chronic heart failure and osteoarthritis is being discharged after a short inpatient stay; the discharge planner arranges durable medical equipment and orders a E0290 hospital bed, fixed height, without side rails, with mattress, to be delivered to the home the day of discharge. The clinical workflow includes an assessment by the hospital case manager or home health nurse, documentation of functional limitations and the need for a hospital-style bed in the discharge summary, an order placed to a DME supplier citing E0290, verification of insurance coverage, delivery and setup at the residence, and a brief in-home education session with the patient and caregiver on safe transfers and bed use.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
22 | Increased procedural services | Use when extra work is required for delivery or set-up beyond typical expectation (rare for DME; document specifics). |