Earnings per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010
Numerator:
Income from continuing operations, net of taxes	$ 95,800	$ 88,009	$ 280,279	$ 260,745
Less: Income from continuing operations attributable to noncontrolling interests, net of taxes	18,327	14,484	53,486	45,816
Income from continuing operations attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders - basic and diluted	77,473	73,525	226,793	214,929
Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes	(3,169)	(3,155)	(55,776)	(4,553)
Less: Loss from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interests, net of taxes		(31)		(97)
Loss from discontinued operations attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders - basic and diluted	$ (3,169)	$ (3,124)	$ (55,776)	$ (4,456)
Denominator:
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding - basic	89,412,310	91,484,466	90,513,665	92,035,722
Effect of dilutive securities:
Restricted stock awards	307,631	570,002	275,561	472,296
Employee stock options	128,371	393,041	458,685	695,934
Other equity based awards	9,271	15,193	8,558	15,957
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding - diluted	89,857,583	92,462,702	91,256,469	93,219,909
Dilutive securities outstanding not included in the computation of earnings per share because their effect is antidilutive:
Employee stock options	6,909,075	6,029,836	6,010,261	4,964,658