Insurance companies have to make money too.
Ah, but you see, the insurance companies aren't raising these rates just to "get by" and barely break even--which is what your comment makes it sound like. They're raising the rates so their multi-billion $$$ profit margins stay the same or get better. They do that for now until the market softens up and they get some competition, then they've already lined their pockets for when the lean times come. BUT--until the market adjusts and more demand hits along w/some kind of competition, this will continue.

Once again, if we were going to do any health reform, it needed to be the public option b/c that would have automatically given insurance companies competition in the market place, driving prices downward.

However, without it, we just have to hope the market softens up and someone steps in with a better and/or cheaper alternative to what the bigger companies are providing. Until then, we're stuck at status quo.