Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013		Mar. 31, 2012
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income [Abstract]
Operating revenues (net of contractual allowances and discounts)	$ 3,799,864		$ 3,783,491
Provision for bad debts	488,114		486,456
Net operating revenues	3,311,750		3,297,035
Operating costs and expenses:
Salaries and benefits	1,577,148		1,524,975
Supplies	497,841		498,579
Other operating expenses	707,974		708,943
Electronic health records incentive reimbursement	(20,916)		(26,168)
Rent	71,554		67,224
Depreciation and amortization	192,158		174,354
Total operating costs and expenses	3,025,759		2,947,907
Income from operations	285,991		349,128
Interest expense, net	156,350		152,175
Loss from early extinguishment of debt	1,295		63,429
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates	(15,680)		(12,013)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	144,026		145,537
Provision for income taxes	47,703		45,819
Income from continuing operations	96,323		99,718
Discontinued operations, net of taxes:
Loss from operations of entities sold			(466)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes			(466)
Net income	96,323		99,252
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	17,149		23,778
Net income attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. stockholders	$ 79,174		$ 75,474
Basic earnings (loss) per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders:
Continuing operations	$ 0.87		$ 0.86
Discontinued operations			$ (0.01)
Net income	$ 0.87		$ 0.85
Diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders (1):
Continuing operations	$ 0.86		$ 0.85
Discontinued operations			$ (0.01)
Net income	$ 0.86	[1]	$ 0.85	[1]
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding:
Basic	91,002,615		88,674,779
Diluted	91,998,993		88,852,704

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