Among others, tptacek has mentioned in a few threads that providing founders/employees with healthcare is a significant problem for early-stage, small companies, especially for bootstrappers, and for people trying to freelance (it becomes easier if you're large-ish, where you can negotiate a group plan).
Since this discussion is primarily about entrepreneurialism in Europe, I'll note that most, if not all, of the major economies in Europe have socialised healthcare systems. There are also, at least in the UK, various rules that apply to employers in general but have built-in limitations or outright exceptions for businesses with only a small number of people.
There certainly are hurdles to taking on new staff here, but often it's more about getting rid of employees rather than day-to-day overheads while they're employed. In particular, the difficulty of firing even someone who is severely underperforming is notorious in many of these economies, which makes the risk of taking someone on in the first place proportionately greater.
Since this discussion is primarily about entrepreneurialism in Europe, I'll note that most, if not all, of the major economies in Europe have socialised healthcare systems. There are also, at least in the UK, various rules that apply to employers in general but have built-in limitations or outright exceptions for businesses with only a small number of people.
There certainly are hurdles to taking on new staff here, but often it's more about getting rid of employees rather than day-to-day overheads while they're employed. In particular, the difficulty of firing even someone who is severely underperforming is notorious in many of these economies, which makes the risk of taking someone on in the first place proportionately greater.