Condensed Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income (Unaudited) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014		Mar. 31, 2013
Condensed Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income [Abstract]
Operating revenues (net of contractual allowances and discounts)	$ 4,900		$ 3,752
Provision for bad debts	705		478
Net operating revenues	4,195		3,274
Operating costs and expenses:
Salaries and benefits	2,004		1,555
Supplies	635		494
Other operating expenses	1,023		696
Electronic health records incentive reimbursement	(40)		(19)
Rent	99		70
Depreciation and amortization	257		190
Amortization of software to be abandoned	42
Total operating costs and expenses	4,020		2,986
Income from operations	175		288
Interest expense, net	224		156
Loss from early extinguishment of debt	73		1
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates	(11)		(16)
Impairment of long-lived assets	24
(Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes	(135)		147
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	(57)		49
(Loss) income from continuing operations	(78)		98
Discontinued operations, net of taxes:
Loss from operations of entities held for sale	(2)		(2)
Impairment of hospitals held for sale	(18)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes	(20)		(2)
Net (loss) income	(98)		96
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	14		17
Net (loss) income attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. stockholders	$ (112)		$ 79
Basic (loss) earnings per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders (1):
Continuing operations	$ (0.86)	[1]	$ 0.89	[1]
Discontinued operations	$ (0.19)	[1]	$ (0.02)	[1]
Net (loss) income	$ (1.05)	[1]	$ 0.87	[1]
Diluted (loss) earnings per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders (1):
Continuing operations	$ (0.86)	[1]	$ 0.88	[1]
Discontinued operations	$ (0.19)	[1]	$ (0.02)	[1]
Net (loss) income	$ (1.04)	[1]	$ 0.86	[1]
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding:
Basic	106,601,997		91,002,615
Diluted	107,180,584		91,998,993

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