Long term care defines a range of services that refer to people with differing personal care needs. It isn’t something that can be defined as a single type of service. As a purely medical service long term care is a form of healthcare that delivers assistance to people with chronic illness or disability. However, for others it can also be a type of care that assists people who cannot perform basic tasks essential to normal living. These are known as Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) such as eating, dressing, bathing, getting out of bed, using the toilet and so forth. Then, for those who seek to continue living independently despite slipping health, long term care can even include assisting with Instrumental ADLs (IADLs) such as cooking, shopping, managing money, taking medications and other activities a fully functional person normally performs. Understanding the cost of long term care is crucially important for both Seniors and those close to retirement.