The model then estimates the overall prevalence of diabetes, disability-adjusted life years, and total direct health expenditure enabling estimates of cost effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-benefit. This choice is a function of predicted health status, objective measures of health, and individual characteristics. Predicted health status is a linear combination of past health status and individual characteristics estimated via an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model. This enables examination of both the short term impact of the intervention on health care expenditures and taxes as well as a longer-term view of the impact on health, health expenditure, employment and GDP.