CMS Pub. 100-01, ch. 4, § 40.3

The recertification statement must contain an adequate written record of the reasons for

the continued need for extended care services, the estimated period of time required for

the patient to remain in the facility, and any plans, where appropriate, for home care. The

recertification statement made by the physician does not have to include this entire

statement if, for example, all of the required information is in fact included in progress.

NOTE: In such a case, the physician's statement could indicate that the individual's

medical record contains the required information and that continued posthospital

extended care services are medically necessary. A statement reciting only that continued

extended care services are medically necessary is not, in and of itself, sufficient.

If the circumstances require it, the first recertification and any subsequent recertifications

must state that the continued need for extended care services is for a condition requiring

such services which arose after the transfer from the hospital and while the patient was

still in the facility for treatment of the condition(s) for which he/she had received

inpatient hospital services.