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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

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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 9h
Does that count as deflation, since it’s only 10% of the original offer to voters?
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Anne Cronin @annecronin.bsky.social · 12h
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.
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STAT @statnews.com · 14h
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.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 15h
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.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 16h
Gotta feeling end of the year Alumni Fund drive calls to billionaires are going to be pretty aggressive now…
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 16h
Bloomberg reporting Ives will co-build MAGA-manager Yorkville Financial’s investment banking arm. Does this mean he’ll be wearing gold shirts and jackets now?
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 16h
Busy for Dan Ives — launching a new fund… and taking on a new role and potentially new wardrobe…
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 17h
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.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
> @variety.com variety.com/2026/digital...
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 30/09/2026
"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.
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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.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 28/09/2026
I think the frequency of colonoscopy depends on your cancer risk. With a familial history and findings of polyps, one year could be warranted. For those with moderate risk they usually recommend every three years, though just saw a study that said that it’s okay to wait five years.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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 $...
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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.
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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.
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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
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 24/09/2026
Meantime, @kff.org notes that those MFN prices are still higher than in other developed nations.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 24/09/2026
It would seem that there should be a way to help employees pay out of pocket on the pharma sites which are cheaper, and underwrite a portion of it. Alternatively employers could contract directly with NVO or LLY for the cash price, though that would likely impact their PBM contracts.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 24/09/2026
More employers are dropping weight loss coverage for 2027 because of rising costs — starting with the parent company of one of nation’s top PBMs — and Bloomberg reports it’s creating friction with employees…
share.google
GLP-1 Users Are Furious After Employers Drop Insurance Benefits
Nearly half of large US companies covered the popular drugs last year, but that number is beginning to fall as they grapple with the medications’ high prices.
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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...
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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.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 22/09/2026
Molina Quintero says Panama does not want to be in the middle of conflict between the U.S. and China. L”When two elephants go at it” he says it’s best to stay out of it.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 22/09/2026
Molina Quintero tells students the future is not inherited, it is built.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 18/09/2026
What is the White House Correspondents Association doing about this?
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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.
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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.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 18/09/2026
threads.com
Bertha Coombs (@bercoonyc) on Threads
earthsnaturaltouch’s SciHonor Devotion says historically African midwives were not just central in birth but end of life and community health in slave communities, and all through Jim Crow would conti...
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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...
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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?
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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.
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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...
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 14/09/2026
By the way, remember the cardinal rules of Boston Driving: - The oldest/biggest car always has the right of way in a rotary. - Turn signals are a sign of weakness.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 14/09/2026
I remember trying to direct a non-Boston friend giving me a ride home to go “half-way around the rotary” near our house. She said, “The what?!!” “The rotary, just ahead,” I said. “Wait—you mean the traffic circle?!” she asked. Weirdly, they call it a “traffic circle” in Martha’s Vineyard.
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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.”
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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.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 12/09/2026
I couldn’t watch any of it yesterday. Yet, as I was on a walk in the park at 8:46 am, I found myself getting weepy. I pray that we can all be infused with that spirit of remembrance every day and choose compassion over our worst instincts.
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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!
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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.
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Bertha Coombs @berthacoombs.cnbc.com · 10/09/2026
While Brent > $100 a barrel impacts global costs, WTI at that level more immediately impacts gas prices here. Our gasoline is made from Light Sweet Crude, which is easier to refine. (Venezuela’s heavy crude is tougher to process, and pollutes more when burned.)
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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.)
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Ivan the K ™ @ivanthek.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
WTI $104.25
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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.
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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...
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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.
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