Glossary
Level of care
Level of care is a community’s rating of how much personal assistance a resident needs, used to set the monthly care fee on top of base rent.
Most communities use three to five levels, reassessed periodically. Ask how levels are decided, how often they are reviewed, what each one costs, and how a family is told when the level changes.
Related terms
Activities of daily living (ADLs)
Activities of daily living are the basic self-care tasks, usually listed as bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (getting in and out of a bed or chair), continence and eating.
Care assessment
A care assessment is the evaluation a community performs before move-in, and periodically afterward, to determine what help a resident needs and whether the community can safely provide it.
Base rent
Base rent is the monthly charge for the room, meals and standard services in a senior living community, before any care fees are added.
Tiered care pricing
Tiered care pricing is a rate model in which a community charges base rent plus a care fee that rises by level, or by points assigned to each task, as a resident’s needs increase.
Definitions reviewed September 5, 2026. Rules vary by state and change over time; confirm specifics with the community and the licensing agency.