Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2020
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net operating revenues	$ 3,115	$ 3,126	$ 9,135	$ 8,670
Operating costs and expenses:
Salaries and benefits	1,336	1,365	3,905	4,054
Supplies	529	523	1,521	1,439
Other operating expenses	716	736	2,170	2,211
Government and other legal settlements and related costs				4
Lease cost and rent	75	85	231	248
Pandemic relief funds	(19)		(102)	(448)
Depreciation and amortization	137	139	408	424
Impairment and (gain) loss on sale of businesses, net	1	(7)	24	48
Total operating costs and expenses	2,775	2,841	8,157	7,980
Income from operations	340	285	978	690
Interest expense, net	216	257	666	779
Loss (gain) from early extinguishment of debt		(115)	79	(111)
Gain on sale of investments in unconsolidated affiliates	(26)		(26)
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates	(4)	(5)	(19)	(11)
Income before income taxes	154	148	278	33
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	10	20	132	(221)
Net income	144	128	146	254
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	33	16	94	54
Net income attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. stockholders	$ 111	$ 112	$ 52	$ 200
Earnings per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders:
Basic	$ 0.87	$ 0.98	$ 0.41	$ 1.74
Diluted	$ 0.85	$ 0.97	$ 0.40	$ 1.74
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding:
Basic	127,077,786	115,015,460	126,638,291	114,764,050
Diluted	130,885,139	115,640,852	129,885,951	115,012,202