The Visiting Nurse Associations of America submitted comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology last week on the Draft National Health IT Strategic Plan. VNAA encouraged ONC to support the development of EHRs and other IT tools specifically designed for PAC providers and emphasized the need for interoperability to support new care delivery models.

VNAA also submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the draft ACO regulations (also known as the Medicare Shared Savings Program or MSSP). VNAA emphasized the need for several waivers to facilitate high quality, efficient, and coordinated care. Specifically, VNAA asked for waivers of: the face-to-face requirement, homebound status, payment rules related to palliative care and hospice, and payment rules for health information technology.