A recent letter praised America's health care system while bashing Canada's system.

Interestingly, the writer admitted she had no first-hand experience with the Canadian system and that her Canadian friends were happy with it.

What were her rationales for declaring our system better? First, she was able to have an operation within a week and claimed that would have been impossible in Canada. Really? Was her operation expedited because her physician recommended it due to her medical condition? If so, then the same thing would have happened in Canada. However, if she could have waited longer without endangering her health then, yes, in Canada she would have waited while others who needed surgery sooner went first.

Second, she states that many Canadians come to the U.S. for medical care. Of course they do. We have the best medical care in the world -- if you can afford it. What we don't have is the best health care system. About 15 million citizens do not have access to health care because they can't afford it. That's why Canada's infant mortality rate is lower, and Canadian citizens live longer. To say that seniors in Canada suffer due to their health care system is ridiculous.

The Affordable Care Act is a first step toward giving our citizens not just the best medical care in the world, but also the best health care system. Why oppose it? Because apparently many in this country subscribe to the philosophy: "I have mine, and I don't care about anyone else." How sad.

Dwight Wolf

Hilton Head Island