Another story from a single-payer world:

The major benefit of living in Canada, which is drilled into the heads of all young Canadians, is that health care is free; my friend will not have to pay a cent to have her knee repaired (aside from a lifetime of high taxes, of course). But, as I’m sure that you are aware, she will have to wait. Instead of having her knee fixed as soon as possible (perhaps on her own dime), she will be forced to endure time on the Medicare waiting lists in order to obtain these government-rationed medical services. Unless she seeks treatment outside the country, she can do very little to speed along the process.

So how long is my friend expected to live with the chronic pain of an ACL injury, the inconvenience of a brace, and no chance of playing the sport she loves dearly?

12-18 months.

The Government of Canada will force her to wait between twelve and eighteen months to receive the treatment she needs in order to resume the life that she wants to live.