Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2011		Jun. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2011
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income [Abstract]
Operating revenues (net of contractual allowances and discounts)	$ 3,746,428		$ 3,433,829		$ 7,529,919		$ 6,787,881
Provision for bad debts	503,454		433,002		989,910		832,971
Net operating revenues	3,242,974		3,000,827		6,540,009		5,954,910
Operating costs and expenses:
Salaries and benefits	1,497,446		1,384,096		3,022,421		2,763,463
Supplies	489,729		449,279		988,308		907,096
Other operating expenses	736,225		654,737		1,445,168		1,269,530
Electronic health records incentive reimbursement	(16,802)		0		(42,970)		0
Rent	66,463		62,431		133,687		125,601
Depreciation and amortization	179,801		161,376		354,155		319,531
Total operating costs and expenses	2,952,862		2,711,919		5,900,769		5,385,221
Income from operations	290,112		288,908		639,240		569,689
Interest expense, net	151,607		163,230		303,782		326,448
Loss from early extinguishment of debt					63,429
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates	(13,181)		(12,017)		(25,194)		(30,151)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	151,686		137,695		297,223		273,392
Provision for income taxes	49,519		44,821		95,338		88,913
Income from continuing operations	102,167		92,874		201,885		184,479
Discontinued operations, net of taxes:
Income (loss) from operations of entities sold			235		(466)		(1,443)
Impairment of hospitals sold			(39,562)				(47,930)
Loss on sale, net							(3,234)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes			(39,327)		(466)		(52,607)
Net income	102,167		53,547		201,419		131,872
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	18,808		18,158		42,586		35,159
Net income attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc.	$ 83,359		$ 35,389		$ 158,833		$ 96,713
Basic earnings (loss) per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders (1):
Continuing operations	$ 0.94	[1]	$ 0.82	[1]	$ 1.79	[1]	$ 1.64	[1]
Discontinued operations			$ (0.43)	[1]	$ (0.01)	[1]	$ (0.58)	[1]
Net income	$ 0.94	[1]	$ 0.39	[1]	$ 1.79	[1]	$ 1.06	[1]
Diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders (1):
Continuing operations	$ 0.93	[1]	$ 0.81	[1]	$ 1.79	[1]	$ 1.62	[1]
Discontinued operations			$ (0.43)	[1]	$ (0.01)	[1]	$ (0.57)	[1]
Net income	$ 0.93	[1]	$ 0.39	[1]	$ 1.78	[1]	$ 1.05	[1]
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding:
Basic	89,147,472		91,130,672		88,911,126		91,069,876
Diluted	89,530,639		91,783,725		89,191,651		91,960,610

[1] Total per share amounts may not add due to rounding.