Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)														12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Nov. 15, 2010	Nov. 15, 2010 Minimum	Nov. 15, 2010 Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Letters Of Credit And Surety Bonds	Dec. 31, 2013 Revenue Cycle Data Processing Services	Dec. 31, 2013 Electronic Health Records Application	Dec. 31, 2013 Estimated Minimum Liabilities For Physician Commitments	Dec. 31, 2013 Related to Certain Equipment	Dec. 31, 2013 Construction Commitment	Dec. 31, 2013 Self Insurance Programs Letters Of Credit And Surety Bonds	Dec. 31, 2013 Other Debt Guarantees Letters Of Credit And Surety Bonds	Dec. 31, 2013 Professional And General Liability Psi Subsidiaries	Dec. 31, 2012 Professional And General Liability Psi Subsidiaries	Dec. 31, 2011 Professional And General Liability Psi Subsidiaries	Dec. 31, 2013 Location 2 Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Location 1 Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Puerto Rico	Dec. 31, 2013 Wind Storms Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Wind Storms Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Earthquake	Dec. 31, 2013 Earthquake United States	Dec. 31, 2013 Earthquake United States Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Earthquake United States Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Flood Location 2 Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Flood Location 1 Maximum	Jan. 31, 2008 Subsidiaries Minimum	Nov. 15, 2010 Subsidiaries Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Psychiatric Solutions Inc Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Psychiatric Solutions Inc Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Psychiatric Solutions Inc General and Professional Liability Insurance Policies Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Legacy Subsidiaries General and Professional Liability Insurance Policies Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Behavioral Health Facilities Acquired from Ascend Health Corporation General and Professional Liability Insurance Policies	Dec. 31, 2013 Behavioral Health Facilities Acquired from Ascend Health Corporation General and Professional Liability Insurance Policies Maximum	Oct. 30, 2012 Behavioral Health Facilities Acquired from Ascend Health Corporation General and Professional Liability Insurance Policies Maximum
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Self-insured for professional and general liability	$ 206,000,000	$ 279,000,000																										$ 10,000,000		$ 3,000,000	$ 75,000,000	$ 3,000,000	$ 10,000,000		$ 20,000,000
Purchased several excess policies through commercial insurance carriers per occurrence																													200,000,000							250,000,000
Percentage of liability for claims paid under commercially insured coverage			10.00%
Liability for claims paid under commercially insured coverage				10,000,000	60,000,000
Minimum Insurance Deductible																	250,000	50,000																25,000
Self-insured for professional and general liability, current	44,000,000	48,000,000
Reduction in professional and general liability self-insurance reserves relating to prior years														81,000,000	27,000,000	11,000,000
Weighting given to company-specific metrics															100.00%	75.00%
General industry metrics															0.00%	25.00%
Compensation liability claims	64,000,000	66,000,000
Compensation and related benefits	34,000,000	35,000,000
Commercial property insurance policies covering catastrophic losses																			25,000,000		1,000,000,000	250,000,000	100,000,000
Percentage of insurance deductible																				3.00%	5.00%			1.00%	5.00%
Maximum insurance deductible																										500,000	250,000
Combined estimated future purchase obligations	261,000,000						76,000,000	149,000,000	3,000,000	33,000,000	153,000,000
Combined estimated future payments related to non contributory	223,000,000
Defined benefit pension plan estimated payments through 2088	205,000,000
Other retirement plan liabilities	17,000,000
Off-balance sheet contingent obligation						$ 85,000,000						$ 69,000,000	$ 16,000,000