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Dad lives in AL. It’s only been 6 months.  “Goldilocks” has been through 3 beds, hating them all. He gave up his mattress of 40 years when I moved him. Now he will only sleep in his chair, which has caused health issues (bed sores and cellulitis).
Do I get him a new bed? He has one from Medicare now, and absolutely hates the cheap mattress, the bed springs, etc?  Suggestions ???

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Pocketed springs. Like they use to advertise with the hippo and the duckling sharing a double bed, SilentNight I think it was. There's a lot of work goes into a good mattress.

Goodness, I've just remembered the horsehair mattresses at the convent school my dearest mama sent me to first - when you're eight you could sleep quite happily on a bed of nails, but making them up in the morning - ! They seemed to weigh a ton.
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I think those would be COILS, not springs CM. (spring... coil... ??? 😉)
Anyway I'm thinking "box springs" or even farther back those slatted bed springs...
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Beds don't have springs any more???

By golly yes they do! - 1600 of 'em in decent quality ones. I still quite miss mine sometimes but my shoulders prefer memory foam.
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Well beds don't have springs anymore, so that can't be the problem!

I agree with CountryMouse that the problem is probably a combination of size and comfort, a medicaid paid bed is most likely a basic single and I doubt he was sleeping on that at home. Is there space for a larger bed in his room? The options are going to depend on how deep his pockets are and how much space is available, they do make full sized adjustable beds but they cost $$$.

Caregiverology's suggestion is good too because the company has a 100 day trial period - but you would have to get him to actually try it out!

Could the appeal of the recliner simply be that it is more conveniently placed to watch TV, get to the bathroom etc and is easier to get in and out of? Lots of older folks have trouble getting out of bed, a bed assist rail might help with that, and perhaps rearranging the furniture a little? Just some thoughts...
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"He gave up his mattress of forty years..."!!! Love it!

7-8 years for a pocket sprung, or up to 15 for a Tempur are the recommended renewal intervals.

Mind you. The fact that your father's old mattress was still recognisably a mattress at all says quite a lot for its quality - they don't make 'em like that any more, eh.

What are the key differences we're asking him to adjust to, here..?

Dimensions of bed
Height of bed
Depth of mattress
Composition of mattress

The thing is. If, for example, he's gone from a 6' x 7' or larger to a 4' x 6'6"; AND instead of a goodness me you could make a bomb shelter out of that pocket sprung 18" deep mattress that took twelve good men and true to turn he now has a technologically brilliant but ethereal foam sandwich and that's all that's standing between him and a frame he hardly believes will hold him...

Or, it could be that he hurts anyway but blames the loss of Old Faithful for it. In which case changing the bed won't get you anywhere.
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I highly recommend the purple mattress. I've been using mine for over a year now and absolutely love it. It is a bed like no other. Some great benefits it would have for your dad is the fact that the pressure is distributed extremely evenly which is great for preventing pressure sores. You can also put it on an adjustable base like I have. I also recommend the purple pillow and purple sheets. They are also high quality. All of it is available online too. As you can see, I'm a purple fan. :)
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How about a thin memory foam mattress topper?
I would recommend one with its own cover. Makes it easier all round.
I love mine.
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Does he hate the actual mattress or maybe the idea of assisted living? I have to say, though, that the mattress and the bed we were provided by Medicare and the DME company they used are both pieces of junk. And those “egg carton” mattresses don’t look very comfortable either. Go on the internet and google hospital bed mattresses. There might be a better one for him, albeit more expensive and with Medicare the way it is, you might have to self-pay. One of those self-adjusting air mattresses might work too.
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