Final answer:
The health care system incurs substantially higher costs for someone with diabetes compared to an individual without the condition, due to complications like heart disease and kidney failure. Estimates suggest a couple may need about $283,000 for health care costs in retirement, with diabetic patients likely needing more. The cost impacts are felt broadly, affecting even the manufacturing sector.
Step-by-step explanation:
Managing diabetes is significantly more costly for the health care system compared to caring for those without the condition. Diabetes is associated with complications like heart disease, loss of eyesight, and kidney failure. These long-term complications can lead to frequent hospital stays, medications, and possibly surgical interventions, which add substantial expenses. Additionally, diabetic individuals typically incur costs related to routine blood glucose monitoring, dietary management, and in many cases, insulin therapy. It is not only the direct medical costs that are higher for diabetic patients but also the indirect costs, such as increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and the impact on quality of life.
Health care is indeed expensive, with estimates suggesting that a couple at age 65 may need around $283,000 to cover their health care costs during retirement. This figure is expected to be significantly higher for someone living with diabetes, as their ongoing medical expenses are more extensive and typically span a lifetime. Furthermore, the socialized health care system indicates that if preventive measures such as healthy diet, exercise, and weight control are not successful, the costs connected to diabetes and its complications can drastically increase, potentially impacting economic sectors, such as manufacturing, due to associated health insurance costs.