Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

10.  EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The Company maintains various benefit plans, including defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans and deferred compensation plans, for which certain of the Company’s subsidiaries are the plan sponsors. The CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan is a defined contribution plan which covers the majority of the Company’s employees. Employees at locations whose employment is covered by collective bargaining agreements are generally eligible to participate in the CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc. Standard 401(k) Plan. Total expense to the Company under the 401(k) plans was $65 million, $74 million and $85 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and is recorded in salaries and benefits expense on the consolidated statements of income (loss).

The Company maintains unfunded deferred compensation plans that allow participants to defer receipt of a portion of their compensation. The liability for the deferred compensation plans was $175 million and $176 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is included in other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. Assets designated to pay benefits under this plan are discussed below.

The Company provides an unfunded Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SERP”) for certain members of its executive management. The Company uses a December 31 measurement date for the benefit obligations and a January 1 measurement date for its net periodic costs for the SERP. Variances from actuarially assumed rates will result in increases or decreases in benefit obligations and net periodic cost in future periods. Benefits expense under the SERP was $11 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and $7 million for both of the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. The accrued benefit liability for the SERP totaled $99 million and $89 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is included in other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. The weighted-average assumptions used in determining net periodic cost for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were discount rates of 2.7% and 3.1%, respectively, and an annual salary increase of 3.0% for both years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

During 2021, certain members of executive management of the Company that were participants in the SERP retired and met the requirements for payout of their SERP retirement benefit. The SERP payout provisions require payment to the participant in an actuarially determined lump sum amount six months after the participant retires from the Company. There were no settlement losses during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

The Company had assets of $248 million as of December 31, 2021, in a non-qualified plan trust generally designated to pay benefits of the deferred compensation plans and the SERP, consisting of equity securities of $81 million as of December 31, 2021, and company-owned life insurance contracts of $167 million as of December 31, 2021. The Company had assets of $243 million as of December 31, 2020, in a non-qualified plan trust generally designated to pay benefits of the deferred compensation plans and the SERP, consisting of equity securities of $95 million as of December 31, 2020, and company-owned life insurance contracts of $148 million as of December 31, 2020.

The Company maintains the CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc. Retirement Income Plan (“Pension Plan”), which is a defined benefit, non-contributory pension plan that covers certain employees at three of its formerly owned hospitals. The Pension Plan provides benefits to covered individuals satisfying certain age and service requirements. Employer contributions to the Pension Plan are in accordance with the minimum funding requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. The Company does not expect to make contributions to the Pension Plan in 2022.

In September 2021, the lifetime obligation of the Pension Plan with respect to certain participants was transferred to a third-party insurer via an irrevocable annuity contract. The third-party insurer began paying benefits to the participants as of November 1, 2021. This action resulted in a partial plan settlement and recognition of a less than $1 million settlement charge during the year ended December 31, 2021.

The Company uses a December 31 measurement date for the benefit obligations and a January 1 measurement date for its net periodic costs for the Pension Plan. Variances from actuarially assumed rates will result in increases or decreases in benefit obligations, net periodic cost and funding requirements in future periods. Benefits expense under the Pension Plan was less than $1 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, inclusive of the aforementioned partial plan settlement, and less than $1 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. The accrued benefit liability for the Pension Plan totaled less than $1 million and $5 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is included in other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. The weighted-average assumptions used for determining the net periodic cost for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were discount rates of 2.5% and 3.2%, respectively, and the expected long-term rates of return on assets of 5.5% and 6.0%, respectively.