There are SOO many things to be afraid of if you're starting a business, I really don't think that health insurance (or especially other things the article mentioned, e.g. retirement savings, medicare, social security) is a showstopper for most people. In starting your own business, you are risking the ability to put food on the table and pay the rent. Health insurance has got to be less scary than that.
I'm not sure about most people. Two points of anecdata: I fell and broke my back almost a year ago. If I had been self employed I would be liable for tens of thousands of dollars. Second: I have a friend who was forced out of the consulting game because of a serious medical issue that private insurance would have cost too much to cover.
I can't generalize from two data points but I can say that for me and my friend, lack of a safety net has absolutely been the show stopper.
No one single thing is showstopper for most people. But healthcare is a really big deal.
If you can't pay rent, then at most you owe your back rent. If you're in a car accident without insurance there is almost unlimited liability. You may owe more than you could ever possibly hope to repay. You may be forced to select treatment that is cheaper, rather than treatment that is better and this could have serious impact on your health.
