The exact mechanisms for enacting the provisions therein — such as requiring manufacturers to reveal their development costs — remain unclear. The industry has previously protected development data as a trade secret. The bills would also require "reasonable pricing clauses" be included in agreements between drug companies and agencies funding their work. They propose waiving exclusive licenses for COVID-19 drugs, allowing competitors to sell the same products as long as they pay the patent holder royalties. .Social Security is one of the only types of retirement income that provides a small increase annually to keep up with inflation. But in recent years, inflation as measured by the government's Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) has been almost non-existent, averaging just 1.2 percent per year since 2010, less than half the 3 percent inflation averaged the decade prior to 2010. .How would seniors go about improving Social Security's financing in the future? A clear majority, 67% strongly agree that it would be fair to require workers to pay Social Security taxes on all of their income rather than letting some pay nothing on income over 0,000. More than 42% strongly agree that with Americans living longer, it would be fair to raise the age for full retirement very gradually, by two months per year to age 69 for people who are age 49 and younger. TSCL was inundated with email comments, and what you're saying should give incumbents pause. .I would like to know the deductible of my Medicare. .Could you tell me the status of the Social Security agreement with Mexico? There hasn't seemed to be much news about it recently. If we get a new president does that mean the agreement would be dead? .In March, the Trump administration paused routine nursing home inspections, which typically occur about once a year. Instead, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asked that state agencies focus on inspecting facilities for their infection control practices, such as whether staff wash their hands or properly wear protective clothing before tending to multiple patients. .By Jessie Gibbons, Legislative Assistant .TSCL Tells Congress —"Leave Social Security and Medicare out of Budget Negotiations" .More than 30% of all Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans last year. The federal government pays plans a monthly fee to deliver all their healthcare needs — a fee that's based for the most part on risk scores. In 2015 plans like Humana received on average about ,900 per person for the year. According to government estimates, Medicare made nearly billion in improper payments to Medicare Advantage plans from 2008 through 2013, mostly due to inflated risk scores.