It’s no secret that U.S. health care costs are rising through the roof. Unless you and your family are endowed with superior genes, you’ve probably faced your share of health care expenses.

Luckily, there are ways to cut your health care costs without reducing the quality of care you receive. Here are a few tricks and tips for reducing your family’s health care costs—

Choose wisely. First and foremost, it’s important to select the best health insurance plan for your personal situation. The cheapest plan is not always the best. Even if your monthly premiums are extremely low, you’ll lose money in the long run if the plan doesn’t provide the benefits you need.

Typically, if you’re young and healthy, you probably won’t be making many trips to the doctor’s office. So your best bet may be to choose a plan with lower premiums and higher copays. On the other hand, if you’re older, have health problems or have young children, you’re probably going to spend more time in the physician’s or pediatrician’s office—so you should consider a plan with lower copays, for which you’ll pay a higher premium.

Follow the rules. It’s extremely important to know the rules of your particular health insurance plan and follow them as closely as possible. If you don’t, your insurance company could deny your claims or reduce the benefits that it pays, leaving you with a hefty bill.

Don’t ever assume that a medical procedure is covered by your plan or that a physician is in your network—and don’t expect the doctor to tell you. It’s no one’s responsibility but your own to know your health plan’s rules. Take a look at your insurance plan’s handbook or Web site to see if you are covered before you receive treatment. If you’re still unsure, call your plan’s customer service number.

Create an emergency plan. Don’t wait until a medical emergency strikes to figure out which hospitals are in your insurance plan’s network. You and your family should have an action plan in place in case one of you becomes extremely ill in the middle of the night.

Figure out which hospitals are in your network and keep the addresses and phone numbers of the closest ones on hand. Familiarize yourself with your plan’s rules about ambulance services and emergency room copays. You also should figure out if your physician’s or pediatrician’s office offers after-hours services. This could save you a trip to the hospital and a great deal of money. If an emergency does arise and you’re not sure what to do, call your provider’s 24-hour emergency help line number, which usually can be found on the back of your insurance card (but don’t delay in seeking care in the case of a true emergency).

Save at the pharmacy. Ask your doctor to prescribe generic drugs, which are more cost-effective than brand-name drugs. You could reduce your prescription costs by $10 to $40 per medication.

Tap into health care spending accounts. Several different types of health care savings and/or spending accounts are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. One of these, the flexible spending account (FSA), is an employer-sponsored plan that allows you to set aside money and then pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses on a pre-tax basis. (FSAs also are available for dependent day care expenses.) From a health care FSA, you can use pre-tax dollars to pay copays, deductibles, dental and vision expenses, and any other health care expense that is not covered by your insurance plan.

Get healthy. If you are a smoker or are considered obese, you’re paying the price when it comes to health care. The direct health care costs associated with smoking exceed $16 billion a year. Over a lifetime, smokers pay approximately a third more in health care costs than non-smokers—even though smokers live for fewer years.

Overweight people also face higher medical expenses. According to a 2002 study by Rand Corp., Americans who are obese pay $395 more a year in health care costs than those of a normal weight. Not to mention that overweight people often have a difficult time obtaining health insurance—which means that they can be stuck with the bill if they suffer from a serious illness or injury.

Experts believe that if you quit smoking, lose weight (if you are overweight) and exercise more, you’ll save untold amounts of money in the long run on health care expenses. Plus, because they generally live longer, healthier people get better life insurance rates.

Know your plan and try to curb any unhealthy lifestyle issues, and your health care dollars can go a lot further.

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