Sign in

Bertha Coombs

@berthacoombs.cnbc.com
4.4K followers 84 following 1.5K posts

Former CNBC Senior Health Care Reporter | National Hispanic Health Research Institute Advisory Board Member #HealthcareNerd #RedSoxFan #Cubana #Hiker www.nhhri.org

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Bertha Coombs
Anne Cronin @annecronin.bsky.social · 1h
FREE LINK > Pennsylvania has now reported a FIFTH measles death. Avril Silva has more here > www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Pennsylvania Reports Fifth Death From Measles in Widening Crisis
Pennsylvania has reported its fifth measles-associated death this year, as the US continues to suffer through its worst outbreak in decades.
22115
Reposted by Bertha Coombs
STAT @statnews.com · 3h
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants with legal status are at risk of losing government health coverage starting Oct. 1. www.statnews.com/2026/09/30/legal-i…
statnews.com
U.S. poised to boot legal immigrants from Medicaid, including refugees and sex-trafficking victims
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants with legal status, including refugees and sex-trafficking victims, are at risk of losing government health coverage starting Oct. 1.
31612
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 4h
Epic is using Anthropic AI tools to shore up security vulnerabilities. Guess if Claude is going to kill us through our medical records, it may have to get in line behind the bureaucratic bots which already crush our souls with paperwork.
nytimes.com
Medical Records Firm Uses AI Tool to Expose Flaws that Threaten Patient Privacy
Epic’s engineers deployed an Anthropic tool that exposed security risks that could allow undetected access to millions of patient records.
000
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 5h
Gotta feeling end of the year Alumni Fund drive calls to billionaires are going to be pretty aggressive now…
020
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 5h
Busy for Dan Ives — launching a new fund… and taking on a new role and potentially new wardrobe…
100
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 7h
A word about the Wordle 🤖: While it’s not an agentic force out to kill us, it does take on a petty persona when you beat it to the answer, especially today when it failed to get the word. It determined that we humans used no skill in getting the correct answer.
010
Reposted by Bertha Coombs
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
> @variety.com variety.com/2026/digital...
1222978814
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 21h
"According to America.gov: It is Americans, and not foreign companies, that pay for Mr. Trump’s import tariffs; U.S. elections are generally safe... Mr. Trump is wrong when he says that 25 million immigrants illegally crossed the border... Consumer prices are not going down..."
nytimes.com
Trump Launches Government Chatbot That Contradicts Some of His Claims (Gift Article)
Democrats amplified statements from America.gov that frequently contradict the president on tariffs, election fraud and other topics.
071
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 28/09/2026
😳 Embarrassing Breach at F.B.I. Fuels Fears of Harm to Its Employees
nytimes.com
Embarrassing Breach at F.B.I. Fuels Fears of Harm to Its Employees
In an internal memo, the F.B.I. said it believed the hackers may have stolen sensitive information on all of its employees.
020
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 28/09/2026
Dear developers of provider #healthcareappointment apps… along with a zillion automated reminders ahead of an appointment… in this age of AI… how hard is it to include a calendar invite for the patient when the appointment is made in the first place?!! Seems your programs don’t prioritize patients.
141
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 28/09/2026
So, in all, nearly a quarter of a trillion dollar buyback… $NVDA
wsj.com
Nvidia Adds Record $150 Billion to Stock Buyback
The chip maker is flush with cash from the boom in artificial intelligence.
010
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 26/09/2026
A Shrinking Work Force Is Changing the C.D.C.
nytimes.com
Video: A Shrinking Work Force Is Changing the C.D.C.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lost close to 30 percent of its staff in the past year, with big turnover in top leadership and entire teams effectively shut down. Our health report...
030
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 25/09/2026
Great story by @sripoo.bsky.social. As we approach open 2027 enrollment, if I were self-employed I’d look for an ACA plan I could afford for part of next year and would make sure to get my no co-pay services like my annual exam, mammogram and colonoscopy early in the year, then drop coverage.
apple.news
Americans navigate 'wild West' of health insurance options after dropping Obamacare plans — Reuters
When Stacy Cox, a self-employed photographer in Kanab, Utah, dropped her Obamacare health insurance plan this year, routine preventive care became a financial dilemma. Now she finds herself weighing $...
151
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 24/09/2026
Texas’ Joe Straus rolls out a classic, saying fellow republican Ken Paxton “has a list of scandals longer than a CVS receipt.”
share.google
Texas Republicans Splinter as MAGA Candidates Test Party Limits
Republican Joe Straus spent 10 years as the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Now he’s the latest to join a chorus of GOP leaders voicing doubts about US Senate nominee Ken Paxton, who’s trailing Democrat James Talarico in polls with less than six weeks until Election Day.
021
Reposted by Bertha Coombs
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It gets worse and worse. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...
nytimes.com
RFK Jr. Drew $4 Million in Book Advances From Publisher Who Also Monetized MAHA
A new disclosure also shows $210,000 in consulting fees paid to Cheryl Hines, the health secretary’s wife, by one of several MAHA-affiliated groups capitalizing from his agenda.
074
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 24/09/2026
The Senate held its first ever hearing on Menopause last week. One eye-popping stat: “NIH data shows $78 million was spent on menopause research in 2025, compared with $768 million for its newly established Men’s Health Research category.” 👀
femtechinsider.com
Congress Holds First Menopause Hearing, Calls for Action on Care Gap - Femtech Insider
032
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 24/09/2026
According to the latest Mercer data, more employers are dropping GLP-1 coverage for weight loss. Back when there was a WH press pool, last year, I asked whether the Trump MFN GLP-1 deal with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly could help bring down prices for employer plans. Seems the answer is no…
cnbc.com
GLP-1 prices are dropping: Who exactly will benefit?
CNBC's Bertha Coombs asks President Trump and his team at the White House's announcement on lower prices for Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 medications, if those new prices will extend to commerci...
120
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 22/09/2026
Makes for an interesting talking point just ahead of the midterms... on the back of reports about a new effort to exert greater control over NIH grants.
wapo.st
Trump officials cut 760,000 enrollees from ACA, claiming fraud
Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force concluded that the people were wrongly signed up for the government health care program.
031
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 22/09/2026
At Columbia U, Panamanian President José Raúl Molina says his country is working on combatting potential water shortages amid climate change, to maintain the viability of the Panamanian canal, while also maintaining water for citizens.
130
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 21/09/2026
With Fox as the head of the pool and covering the boycott, that could be of concern to the WH - not to mention the likelihood that the courts will likely weigh in, all just six weeks ahead of the midterms.
050
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 21/09/2026
With Trump scheduled to meet with Mamdani at Gracie Mansion today, wonder whether the Mayor’s office has invited CNN, MS Now, and Politico to be part of that coverage.
nytimes.com
Networks Suspend Pool Coverage of Trump After White House Bans CNN
The move was an escalation of President Trump’s showdown with the White House press corps after he moved to bar journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
030
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 18/09/2026
What is the White House Correspondents Association doing about this?
251
Reposted by Bertha Coombs
Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 18/09/2026
He also threatened to bar other outlets from the executive mansion, saying “other Fake News Media Outlets to follow”
bloom.bg
Trump Says He’ll Ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico From White House
President Donald Trump said he would ban cable news outlets CNN and MSNOW as well as online publication Politico from the White House, a move that strikes at the heart of First Amendment protections for the news media.
318834
Reposted by Bertha Coombs
NBC News @nbcnews.com · 18/09/2026
BREAKING: President Trump says he is banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
nbcnews.to
Trump says he’s banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House
The president posted to his Truth Social account that he had banned the news organizations “as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” and threatened to ban other outlets.
6110030
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 18/09/2026
Today’s Hispanic Health Council #MaternalHealth conference in Hartford looks at Embracing Maternal Heritage — Elevating Latino, Indigenous, and African-American Traditional Knowledge
threads.com
Bertha Coombs (@bercoonyc) on Threads
At @hispanichealthcouncil_ct #MaternalHealth conference this morning, Native American Doula Selena Perry talks about how she helps mothers in labor follow Native traditions in hospitals, including giv...
110
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 16/09/2026
Here’s my dumb question: Why is it inevitable that AI models become destructive? Why can’t they be trained to develop a higher-minded higher intelligence?
230
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 16/09/2026
Good health care. Healthier eating. Healthy habits— one of which, I might note, is that since the first wave of SARs nearly 25 years ago many folks in Asia tend to wear masks to protect themselves during respiratory virus season… 🤔
cnn.com
For the first time, Japan has more than 100,000 centenarians | CNN
Japan has been gripped by a declining population for decades, but one age group is adding new members and there are more of them than ever.
131
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 15/09/2026
GAO report finds Amazon workers on food stamps & public assistance triples. Seems to have happened at the same time as the company’s profits grew 7-fold, while its cash tax rate has fallen to about 1.4%. fortune.com/2026/09/13/a...
075
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 14/09/2026
Because, if it turns out AI doesn’t endanger us… ?
washingtonpost.com
EPA plans to scrap Biden-era rules that limit power-plant climate emissions
Agency chief Lee Zeldin had planned the repeal as part a slew of proposals he called “the largest deregulatory announcement in U.S. history.”
031
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 13/09/2026
For those not from the Bay State, that’s pronounced “pee-bud-ee” — with the emphasis on the first syllable, not like Sherman and Peabody.
140
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 12/09/2026
Great idea from @nytimes’ Jancee Dunn. I’m doing this during my next customer service call. With open enrollment coming up in a couple of weeks, I bet I could do at least 10K steps just pacing in my kitchen while I’m on the phone!
040
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 11/09/2026
A friend called 9/11 the Pearl Harbor of our age. In this day and age, especially, let’s remember the bravery, the kindness and the grace so many showed that day. We saw the best in us, in the face of the worst of humanity.
0287
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 10/09/2026
$WTI and gasoline prices usually cool along with the weather after Labor Day in the fall, barring storms. (🙏🏽 Let’s pray we don’t see a hurricane in the Gulf.)
131
Reposted by Bertha Coombs
Ivan the K ™ @ivanthek.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
WTI $104.25
4414
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 10/09/2026
🤯 I feel for young people seeking that American Dream of buying a home just get more unattainable.
011
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 10/09/2026
$LLY #womenshealth “…efforts point to a more ambitious push into… pregnancy-related disorders and endometriosis…The drugmaker has been recruiting scientists to work on osteoporosis and preeclampsia, while expanding the responsibilities of some longtime executives to encompass women’s health...”
share.google
Lilly’s GLP-1 Windfall to Fund Investments in Women’s Health
Eli Lilly & Co. has been laying the groundwork for a broader move into women’s health, assembling experts and hunting for new medicines across conditions including bone health and endometriosis, a...
021
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 10/09/2026
Bloomberg’s headline called the $5K offer a Quid Pro Quo for your vote, which would cost $1 Trillion. But, as Monty Python might put it, let’s not bicker and argue about the math of paying for it or the impact on the deficit, much less the appropriateness of this concept of a plan…
nytimes.com
‘Pretend That I Am Running’: 7 Takeaways From the G.O.P. Midterm Convention (Gift Article)
At a first-of-its-kind midterm convention, President Trump mostly offered retreads and self-congratulation. Then, he offered to pay Americans $5,000 apiece if Republicans kept power.
120
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 10/09/2026
This game feels like Déjà vu all over again. 🤦🏾‍♀️
000
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 09/09/2026
Can’t help wondering how the Treasury Secretary would be hedging this market if he were still a fund manager…
293
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 09/09/2026
“Thanks, Obama”
031
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 09/09/2026
Feels like a great plot twist for a Big Bang Theory sequel…
000
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 09/09/2026
Ironically, as you age you remember things from long ago better than what you ate yesterday. That’s especially true of cardinal events. I’m not old enough to remember where I was when JFK was shot but I’m sure I’ll always remember that terrifying morning, even if God forbid I suffer dementia.
021
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 07/09/2026
Would have been fascinating to watch the coverage of the launch on Mornings with Maria…
wsj.com
Exclusive | Hunter Biden (and His Laptop) Enter the Cryptosphere With New Meme Coin
The personal computer that launched a thousand memes will debut this week as a digital token.
021
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 03/09/2026
VP JD Vance demurs when asked whether Maria will be new White House spox.
x.com
Acyn (@Acyn) on X
Q: Maria Bartiromo just left Fox News. Is she going to be the next WH press secretary? Vance: I don't know, man. Uh, no, I don't think so.
030
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 03/09/2026
Maria Bartiromo Leaves Fox News effective immediately 👀
nytimes.com
Maria Bartiromo Is Out at Fox News (Gift Article)
The host, who appeared on Fox Business and Fox News, had been with the network for more than 12 years.
160
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 02/09/2026
$CVS and $WBA have already filled 200K GLP-1 scripts through Medicare Bridge Program; gotta think with Walmart, Kroger and independent pharmacies, the number of seniors already accessing the weight loss drugs is about twice that. $LLY $NVO
npr.org
Drugstores say Medicare's $50 obesity drug program is catching on
The Bridge program, which began July 1, makes some Medicare beneficiaries eligible for obesity drugs for $50 a month. CVS and Walgreens say they've each already filled 100,000 such prescriptions.
031
Reposted by Bertha Coombs
Pearl Freier @pearlf.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
An AI update re: the top federal health agency in the US: a judge said HHS cited nonexistent scientific evidence that may have been hallucinated by AI and used it to support cutting tens of millions of dollars in grants. Washington Post story below: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/... #medsky #AI
053
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 31/08/2026
🤬
nytimes.com
Red Sox furious after controversial no-catch call in Yankees rout (Gift Article)
With playoff implications looming large for Boston, the no-catch call was particularly frustrating for the Red Sox.
110
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 31/08/2026
Dutch institute issues a 'Red Alert' over potentially lethal Trump-shaped ecstasy pills — I guess they use “respected drug and mental health institute” in the lede, because this seems unreal.
apnews.com
A Dutch institute issues a 'Red Alert' over potentially lethal Trump-shaped ecstasy pills
A respected drug and mental health institute in the Netherlands is warning about potentially lethal ecstasy pills shaped like U.S. President Donald Trump's head.
134
Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 28/08/2026
63 years ago today… #IHaveADream #MLK
youtube.com
On This Day: MLK’s Iconic Speech (1963)
YouTube video by American Archive of Public Broadcasting
063