insurance issues

Ok, fellow freelancers. I need to hear from you on this one.

So we (we meaning my husband and I, not we as in business partners) received a letter from our insurance company yesterday informing us of a rate increase for 2009...which figures out to be a 25% increase. That's right, my friends. 25%. That's huge. It's ginormous. It's insane. And it's totally uncalled for.

I will be calling our provider later today to ask some important questions. (Why are the web site quotes so different from our actual raters? What justifies this enormous increase? Do you really think people are going to be able to continue to pay for this service if it keeps going up and up and up in leaps and bounds? Who can I talk to--who can give me actual answers--about this problem? Because it is a problem...a BIG one!)

But what I'd like to know from you, fellow entrepreneurs, is if you buy your own insurance, how have your rates increased this year? If you're willing to share, by how much? How much longer do you think you can actually afford to buy health insurance? What other solutions have you considered? What do you think needs to be done?

This is a huge problem in our country. I'm not going to spout my political views on the subject. I'm just wondering how many others are in the same boat and how you're handling these inflated costs. Thanks in advance for your comments.