Khara Scheppmann is a fact-checker for Verywell Health. Previously she was an account executive at a large advertising agency in Las Vegas.
When you or a loved one needs medical care at home, the supplies you require aren’t often found at a drugstore. From orthopedic needs like knee braces to diabetic testing supplies, medical supply companies have a wide range of options to meet your care needs with condition-specific products.
We reviewed 25 medical supply companies and narrowed down our list to the best options for specific categories related to medical needs. After considering factors such as price, product availability, and consumer reviews, we have selected the best medical supply companies for you to consider.
Why We Chose It: Vitality Medical offers more than 100,000 products and features bulk order discounts, fast delivery, and easy returns.
100,000+ available products in more than 12 warehouses across the United States
Wide variety of product categories
Product buying guides to help aid in choices
Cannot ship to Hawaii or Alaska
Does not bill Medicare or insurance
Vitality Medical has been in operation since 2000 and offers one of the largest supply ranges of the websites we reviewed with more than 100,000 products. Brands the company carries include Medline, 3M, Invacare, and Drive. It has more than a dozen warehouses across the country, and the average delivery time is one to three days. Everything comes with a 30-day return policy.
Categories for the products Vitality Medical carries include bariatric, wound care, hospital beds, incontinence, mobility aids, patient care, respiratory therapy, and more. It offers bulk order discounts on products and often issues coupon codes for deeper discounts. For example, a box of vinyl examination gloves is available in a bulk order of 10 cases (10,000 total gloves) for a total cost of $967.50 with discounts. An individual box of 100 gloves is around $11, depending on the size.
The company also features buying guides for certain medical needs, such as compression therapy, enteral feeding, hospital beds, and incontinence. These guides can make it easier for a person to determine the best products for them.
The company accepts prescriptions for products including IV supplies, CPAP machines, restraints, and needles in states that require prescriptions for purchase. You can mail, email, fax, or even text an image of your prescription to the company. They also accept international prescriptions, including those in different languages, and international shipping is available.
Vitality Medical does not deliver to P.O. boxes, Alaska, or Hawaii. It also does not bill Medicare or private insurance companies. However, Vitality Medical does list its products available for reimbursement via a health FSA, HRA, or tax-free distribution.
Why We Chose It: Save Rite Medical offers discounts through its subscription program, free shipping over $100, and wholesale prices on many medical supplies.
Offers 5% discounts on automatic reorders
Pricing discounts for email subscribers
Does not bill Medicare or insurance
Save Rite Medical provides a wide variety of medical supplies at a low price, with discounts available on shipping and automatic reorders. The company has been in operation since 2008 and sells medical supplies in categories that include breast pumps, durable medical equipment, diabetes supplies, enteral feeding pumps, gloves, incontinence, erectile dysfunction, insulin therapy, orthopedics, ostomy supplies, and more.
Shipping is free with any purchases over $100. You can also sign up for the auto-reorder program (and cancel anytime), which allows you to order supplies automatically and have them delivered to you on a weekly or monthly basis at a 5% discount. There also are exclusive pricing discounts available by signing up for the company's email list.
Products available for purchase include those from Cardinal Health, Bayer Healthcare, Abbott Nutrition, and Welch Allyn. As an example of pricing, expect to pay $15.99 for a box of 100 vinyl gloves and $17.74 for a box of 50 glucose test strips. The company employs discreet shipping, meaning it does not advertise that the products are medical supplies or name any specific products on the boxes’ shipping tags. Another benefit to using Save Rite Medical is its educational blog, which discusses the process of purchasing medical supplies and gives advice for saving money.
Save Rite Medical does not accept or bill insurance or Medicare, although it claims to be working toward accepting private insurance policies. The company's return policy is 14 days, shorter than the 30-day window that we found with most companies we reviewed.
Why We Chose It: Discount Medical Supplies has low prices and a price-match guarantee so those without insurance will get the best deal.
Offers a price-match guarantee on medical supplies
Low prices and discount codes offered
Website doesn’t categorize all products
Does not publish a review structure on its website
Discount Medical Supplies has been in business since 2012 and offers more than 20,000 medical supply items. We chose it as the best option for people without health insurance because it has low prices on many products and offers a price-match guarantee. If you find that another retailer offers a lower price on a product (the price must have been valid for more than 30 days), Discount Medical Supplies will match it. Another benefit for those without insurance is that Discount Medical Supplies gave us a 5% discount code as we navigated the pages.
The company has several different categories of medical supplies: wound care, respiratory, urological, daily living aids, and more. Although it does not have a dedicated area for diabetes care, Discount Medical Supplies does sell lancets, which diabetics use to take a blood sample. Prices for common products include $12 for a box of 100 vinyl gloves, $36.25 for a fingertip pulse oximeter, and $14.83 for an aluminum cane.
We did note that the website could be organized better. There are only seven main medical supply categories, yet many other products such as items for people with diabetes and durable medical equipment are also listed but hard to find. In addition, the company doesn’t list reviews of its products.
Why We Chose It: The Betty Mills Company has a wide variety of disposable medical supplies from top brands.
Wide variety of medical supplies and related products, including dietary products
Offers smaller niche categories, including mastectomy breast forms
Does not reimburse insurance or Medicare
The Betty Mills Company has more than 120,000 products and ships them from 55 warehouses across the United States. It boasts one of the widest varieties of disposable medical supplies, including those for incontinence, health and wellness, wound care, skin care, and mobility, along with adaptive apparel, bathroom aids, diabetic products, mattresses, respiratory-related items, syringes, and more. Smaller niche categories such as homeless shelter supplies, mastectomy breast forms, and flu epidemic supplies are available as well.
The company has “double markdown” items of the day, which are special bargains for purchase. For the days we reviewed, these items included a pulse oximeter for $24.92, a case of 12 large hand sanitizer gels for $62.97, and a round shower stool for $47.84. Customers can subscribe to the company's newsletter for additional savings. The Betty Mills Company does not reimburse insurance or Medicare.
Why We Chose It: Home Care Delivered offers has medical equipment as a Medicare- and Medicaid-approved provider and accepts private insurance.
Accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance
Purchasing process is set up to minimize paperwork
Prices for products not advertised
Waiting period while customer service verifies prescriptions
Home Care Delivered is a medical supply company that’s been in business since 1996. It sells medical supplies in several major categories, including bowel and bladder, wound care supplies, diabetes supplies, and more.
Because the company does accept Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance, the process to order supplies looks a little different. Customers will enter their information into the site to create an account and select the products they need. The company will confirm the prescription for certain medical supplies with your doctor and insurance company, and then you'll receive an order confirmation. The process is set up so you don't have to work with the insurance company or fill out a significant amount of paperwork—Home Care Delivered’s customer service team takes care of this. Because a customer service professional must work through insurance, this process may not be as quick as you might expect.
Because most of Home Care Delivered's medical supplies (such as a Foley catheter insertion kit) require a prescription and are fulfilled through insurance, it doesn’t advertise prices. Once the order is placed, the company advertises that it ships products in discreet packaging within one to two business days.
The company has a Better Business Bureau rating of A+.
Why We Chose It: Cascade Healthcare Solution sells four different categories of surgical supplies from trusted medical brands.
Surgical supply categories include standard surgical packs, solutions, surgical supplies, and more
Does not accept insurance or Medicare
Because many surgical supplies are sold wholesale, finding them to purchase individually can be difficult. Cascade Healthcare Solutions has been in operation since 2009 and offers surgical supplies for a variety of disciplines that can be purchased individually or via wholesale. Examples of these include knee arthroscopy, arthrogram trays, laparotomy packs, and more. Its products come from well-known companies, including McKesson, Medline, and Graham-Field.
In addition to surgical packs, Cascade Healthcare Solutions sells needles, syringes, and solutions such as sterile saline, lubricating jelly, and surgical prep solutions. As an example of pricing, a box of 144 foil packs of lubricating jelly costs $13.28; an incision and drainage tray is $89.64; and a piston irrigation syringe is listed at $38.62. Look for discount codes and free shipping options as you peruse the website. The company will ship internationally, but often for a minimum order amount that varies based on the product ordered.
Cascade Healthcare Solutions offers other products such as wound care and incontinence items, bathroom assists, mattresses, and respiratory care products. We liked the navigability of its website, both for surgical products and other options. The site allows you to search by product category or access the index.
The company does not accept Medicare or private health insurance, which according to its website allows it to offer wholesale prices to the public.
Why We Chose It: Allegro Medical sells nearly 1,400 orthopedic-specific supplies and has a rating system to help consumers choose the best products.
More than 1,400 orthopedic supplies from trusted brands
Customer ratings help guide purchase decisions
Can shop products by injury type
Although Allegro Medical sells several categories of medical supplies, we were most impressed with its orthopedic and orthotic options, which number nearly 1,400 different products. Categories in this section include shoes, foot/ankle, hand/wrist, neck/shoulder supports, splints and splinting accessories, traction, positioning aids, and more. You can also shop by condition/injury, which aids in the purchasing process. Allegro Medical has buyer’s guides that can help you learn more about deciding which items to purchase.
We especially liked that the company lists customer ratings on its website from one to five stars. Because there are so many different orthopedic supplies available, the rating system makes it easier to evaluate the best products. Some of the pricing includes $52 for an offloading post-operative shoe, $1 and up for elastic compression bandages, and $72 for a hinged knee brace. The company also offers free shipping on orders that exceed $99. Auto-ship options are available.
Allegro Medical is not a Medicare-approved provider, nor does it work with private insurance companies. It does sell some prescription-only products and will help a customer with obtaining these from their physician.
Most consumer-based medical supply companies offer wholesale prices, but not all of them reimburse insurance. If you do wish to have your insurance or Medicare pay for your medical supplies, you will likely have to create an account with the company and walk through several (manageable) steps before ordering. For price-conscious consumers, most companies will offer price-matching guarantees, discount codes, and discounts for auto-subscribing.
Medical supply companies offer specialty medical supplies you would commonly find at a hospital or long-term care facility. These supplies are often specialty products that you would not typically find at a drugstore or pharmacy. Some sell items that require a doctor’s prescription before they are dispensed.
Examples of product categories you may find on a medical supply company website include the following:
Some medical supply companies may choose to limit their products to one type, such as respiratory equipment, while others may sell a wider product range.
You may need a prescription to buy some items, depending on the purchase type and if you desire reimbursement from your insurance company. For example, equipment such as oxygen, CPAP masks, heated humidifiers, or some durable medical equipment may require a prescription.
Some medical supply companies will allow you to provide your prescription by e-mail or fax. Others will request a prescription on your behalf from your medical provider. Medical supply companies will usually list their policies regarding prescriptions on their website.
Insurance coverage for medical supplies depends largely upon your policy. Some insurance companies will reimburse you for medical supplies and equipment purchases, while others will work with the company to set up reimbursement and subsequent distribution.
The best way to determine if your insurance company covers your medical supplies is to review your explanation of benefits that your insurance company provides on an annual basis. You may also call your insurance company to ask about coverage and reimbursement.
You can order medical supplies online. The medical supply company may ask for proof of a diagnosis or prescription for certain medical supplies (such as a CPAP mask or machine). Other products that don't need specific documentation can be purchased just like any other online transaction.
We reviewed 25 medical supply companies before selecting the best ones for each category and only included companies that sell to consumers as well as businesses. Additional criteria included product availability, pricing, consumer reviews, and website navigability. We also examined shipping times, the number of back-ordered products, and return policies.
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Better Business Bureau. “Home Care Delivered, Inc. | Better Business Bureau® Profile.”
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