Debt Instrument, Amount Issued for Repurchase

No definition available.

Name:	cyh_DebtInstrumentAmountIssuedForRepurchase
Namespace Prefix:	cyh_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Maximum number of days notice needed to redeem the senior notes at the redemption price plus accrued and unpaid interest.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cyh_MaximumPeriodNoticeForRedemptionOfDebt
Namespace Prefix:	cyh_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Minimum number of days notice needed to redeem the senior notes at the redemption price plus accrued and unpaid interest.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cyh_MinimumPeriodNoticeForRedemptionOfDebt
Namespace Prefix:	cyh_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775744&loc=d3e28551-108399

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 55
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775985&loc=d3e28878-108400

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentInterestRateStatedPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- 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

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Date the debt instrument was offered for sale, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(22))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109259400&loc=d3e21475-112644

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentOfferingDate1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Gross amount of debt extinguished.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ExtinguishmentOfDebtAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount, after unamortized (discount) premium and debt issuance costs, of long-term debt. Includes, but not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans and commercial paper. Excludes capital lease obligations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 470
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109500613&loc=SL6031897-161870

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
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-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(a)(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(16))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

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-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermDebt
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=us-gaap_SeniorNotesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=cyh_SeniorNotesAt6875Due2022Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=cyh_JuniorPrioritySecuredNotesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=cyh_JuniorPrioritySecuredNotesDue2024Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentRedemptionPeriodAxis=us-gaap_DebtInstrumentRedemptionPeriodTwoMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Long-Term Debt (6.875% Senior Notes, Due 2022 Narrative) (Details) - USD ($)		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Jun. 22, 2018	Jan. 27, 2014	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt outstanding			$ 13,590,000,000	$ 13,596,000,000
Senior Notes [Member] \| Senior Notes at 6.875, Due 2022 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, offering date			Jan. 27, 2014
Debt instrument aggregate principal amount		$ 3,000,000,000
Long-term debt outstanding	$ 2,632,000,000		$ 2,632,000,000	2,632,000,000
Debt instrument stated interest rate		6.875%
Extinguishment of debt amount	368,000,000
Junior-Priority Secured Notes [Member] \| Junior-Priority Secured Notes Due 2024 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, offering date			Jun. 22, 2018
Debt instrument aggregate principal amount	$ 1,355,000,000
Long-term debt outstanding			$ 1,355,000,000	$ 1,355,000,000
Debt instrument stated interest rate	8.175%
Debt instrument, amount issued for repurchase	$ 276,000,000
Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Two [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Minimum period notice for redemption of debt	15 days
Maximum period notice for redemption of debt	60 days
Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Two [Member] \| Senior Notes [Member] \| Senior Notes at 6.875, Due 2022 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Minimum period notice for redemption of debt		30 days
Maximum period notice for redemption of debt		60 days
Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Two [Member] \| Junior-Priority Secured Notes [Member] \| Junior-Priority Secured Notes Due 2024 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Minimum period notice for redemption of debt			15 days
Maximum period notice for redemption of debt			60 days