Omicron is surging across Europe.

An early data from the US shows its picking up steam here too.

Pfizer announces that its anti-COVID oral pill is 90% effective against severe COVID-19

if taken within three days of the onset of symptoms.

German police detained anti-vaccine extremists who were plotting to assassinate the state governor

of Saxony over his support of vaccine mandates.

This is America Dissected.

I'm your host.

Dr. Abdul Alseid.

Try to have a happy holiday, please.

To start today, I'm going to take you back to the battle days for a minute.

Back before the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies could force people with

pre-existing conditions off their health plans, effectively blacklisting the people who

most needed health insurance from getting it at all.

Medicaid was severely limited, so lowering income people routinely went without health

insurance.

Nearly 20% of Americans went without health insurance at all.

The ACA ventured to fix that in a few key ways.

First, it required insurance companies to insure people with pre-existing conditions.

And in order to support the added costs the insurance companies would take on, it mandated

that people have insurance, forcing the young and healthy people who often choose not

to have it into the insurance pool.

...