Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage, Period 1

No definition available.

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- Definition

Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage, Period 2

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- 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

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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
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- 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
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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

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

+ References

+ Details

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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
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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

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Data Type:	xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Description of debt redemption features under terms of the debt agreement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 470
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph e
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=75038535&loc=d3e64711-112823

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentRedemptionDescription
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Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage price of original principal amount of debt at which debt can be redeemed by the issuer.

+ References

+ Details

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Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of principal amount of debt redeemed.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Period Type:	duration

- Details

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- Details

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- Details

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- Details

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Long-Term Debt (Junior-Priority Secured Notes due 2023 Narrative) (Details) - USD ($)		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Jun. 22, 2018	Nov. 22, 2011	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 21, 2012
Junior-Priority Secured Notes [Member] \| Junior-Priority Secured Notes Due 2023 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, offering date			Jun. 22, 2018
Debt instrument aggregate principal amount	$ 1,770,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage, period 1	11.00%
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage, period 2	9.875%
Debt instrument redemption description			plus a "make-whole" premium, as described in the indenture governing the 2023 Junior-Priority Notes.
Senior Notes [Member] \| Senior Notes at 8.0, Due 2019 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, offering date			Nov. 22, 2011
Debt instrument aggregate principal amount		$ 1,000,000,000
Debt instrument stated interest rate	8.00%	8.00%		8.00%
Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period One [Member] \| Junior-Priority Secured Notes Due 2023 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument redemption price percentage	100.00%
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] \| Junior-Priority Secured Notes [Member] \| Junior-Priority Secured Notes Due 2023 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum principal redeemable using proceeds from a public equity offering, as a percentage of principal amount	40.00%
Debt instrument redemption price percentage	109.875%
Debt Instrument, Redemption, Period Two [Member] \| Senior Notes [Member] \| Senior Notes at 8.0, Due 2019 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Minimum period notice for redemption of debt		30 days
Maximum period notice for redemption of debt		60 days