Spin-Off of Quorum Health Corporation (Schedule of Operating Results included in Consolidated Statement of Income) (Details) - Quorum Health Corporation [Member] - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
(Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes	$ (5)	$ (12)	$ 7
Less: Income attributable to noncontrolling interests	2	1	2
Net (loss) income attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. stockholders	$ (7)	$ (13)	$ 5

Amount before tax of income (loss) from an individually significant component disposed of or held-for-sale attributable to noncontrolling interest. Excludes discontinued operations.

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount before tax of income (loss) from an individually significant component disposed of or held-for-sale attributable to parent. Excludes discontinued operations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3A
-Subparagraph (a)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=64862545&loc=SL51724579-110230

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Amount before tax of income (loss) from an individually significant component disposed of or held-for-sale including the portion attributable to the noncontrolling interest. Excludes discontinued operations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3A
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=64862545&loc=SL51724579-110230

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

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