More than $1 of every $10 spent on health care in Michigan is spent treating about 2 percent of state's population who have multiple chronic diseases, according to a new report from an Ann Arbor-based research group.

The report from the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation found a handful of chronic health conditions to blame for big health care costs in the state and the U.S. which could potentially be reduced.

The report is one of three in a series of issue briefs released from CHRT’s Price of Care study, a long-term analysis of cost drivers in Michigan and the U.S.

Chronic conditions considered potentially preventable, including coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, account for about half of health care spending in the state, according to the center. Smoking and people who are overweight or obese have been shown to contribute to many of these conditions.

The costs of the chronic illness add up quickly, particularly among those with multiple conditions. Among patients with no chronic conditions, health spending averages about $2,788 per year. Among those patients with three or more chronic conditions, health spending averages $27,763, according to the center.

The rates of obesity and smoking in Michigan are big contributors to the costs of chronic disease in the state, according to the report.

Michigan's obesity rate of 29.5 percent is higher than the national average of 26.7 percent. Michigan’s smoking rate of 20.5 percent is also higher than the national average of 18.4 percent.

The Washtenaw County Health Improvement Plan, a health survey which gathers data from county residents every five years, found in a survey of about 2,000 county residents nearly half were overweight or obese as measured by their body mass index calculated by their self-reported heights and weights. In the same survey, nearly 16 percent of those surveyed self-reported they were currently smokers at the time the data was collected while more than 22 percent said they were former smokers.

The Health Improvement Plan indicated of those surveyed, about 9 percent had been told by a doctor at some point they were diabetic, about 2 percent had been told they had angina or coronary heart disease and about 10 percent of adults indicated they currently suffered from asthma.

Marianna Udow-Phillips, director of the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation, pointed to policy changes which can help contribute to lower chronic disease rates such as making more walkable communities or encouraging better nutrition among young people.

Also, lowering the costs of medications - for instance, for diabetes - could help encourage better compliance and maintenance of the disease through drug regimens, she said.

Using data from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, one of the center's funding partners, the center said 35% of the insurers' patients with at least one chronic condition accounted for more than 64% of its total spending.

“Community wellbeing will improve, and spending on chronic conditions will decrease, if we partner with patients in their efforts to embrace healthy behaviors and help them manage their chronic conditions,” said David Share, executive medical director of health care quality at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in a statement.

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.