General	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]
General	(1) General This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2020. In this Quarterly Report, “we,” “us,” “our” “UHS” and the “Company” refer to Universal Health Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries. The condensed consolidated interim financial statements include the accounts of our majority-owned subsidiaries and partnerships and limited liability companies controlled by us, or our subsidiaries, as managing general partner or managing member. The condensed consolidated interim financial statements included herein have been prepared by us, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which, in our opinion, are necessary to fairly state results for the interim periods. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in audited consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations, although we believe that the accompanying disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. These condensed consolidated interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements, significant accounting policies and the notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. In March, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic and the federal government declared COVID-19 a national emergency. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a material unfavorable effect on our operations and financial results since that time, before giving effect to the revenues recorded in connection with the CARES Act and other governmental grants as discussed herein. Patient volumes at both our acute care and behavioral health care facilities were most significantly reduced in March and April. Our acute care and behavioral health facilities began experiencing gradual and continued improvement in patient volumes since May as various states eased stay-at-home restrictions and acute care hospitals were permitted to resume elective surgeries and procedures. Although many of our acute care and behavioral health facilities are located in states that have continued to experience intermittent increases in COVID-19 infections, non-COVID-19 patient volumes at our hospitals have not been as dramatically impacted in recent months by increases experienced from time-to-time in COVID-19 patient volumes. We believe that the adverse impact that COVID-19 will have on our future operations and financial results will depend upon many factors, most of which are beyond our capability to control or predict. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the scope and duration of stay-at-home policies and business closures and restrictions, government imposed or recommended suspensions of elective surgeries and procedures, continued declines in patient volumes for an indeterminable length of time, increases in the number of uninsured and underinsured patients as a result of higher sustained rates of unemployment, incremental expenses required for supplies and personal protective equipment, and changes in professional and general liability exposure. Because of these and other uncertainties, we cannot estimate the length or severity of the impact of COVID-19 on our business. Decreases in cash flows and results of operations may have an impact on the inputs and assumptions used in significant accounting estimates, including estimated implicit price concessions related to uninsured patient accounts, professional and general liability reserves, and potential impairments of goodwill and long-lived assets.

General

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

(1) General

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2020. In this Quarterly Report, “we,” “us,” “our” “UHS” and the “Company” refer to Universal Health Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements include the accounts of our majority-owned subsidiaries and partnerships and limited liability companies controlled by us, or our subsidiaries, as managing general partner or managing member. The condensed consolidated interim financial statements included herein have been prepared by us, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which, in our opinion, are necessary to fairly state results for the interim periods. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in audited consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations, although we believe that the accompanying disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. These condensed consolidated interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements, significant accounting policies and the notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

In March, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic and the federal government declared COVID-19 a national emergency. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a material unfavorable effect on our operations and financial results since that time, before giving effect to the revenues recorded in connection with the CARES Act and other governmental grants as discussed herein. Patient volumes at both our acute care and behavioral health care facilities were most significantly reduced in March and April. Our acute care and behavioral health facilities began experiencing gradual and continued improvement in patient volumes since May as various states eased stay-at-home restrictions and acute care hospitals were permitted to resume elective surgeries and procedures. Although many of our acute care and behavioral health facilities are located in states that have continued to experience intermittent increases in COVID-19 infections, non-COVID-19 patient volumes at our hospitals have not been as dramatically impacted in recent months by increases experienced from time-to-time in COVID-19 patient volumes.

We believe that the adverse impact that COVID-19 will have on our future operations and financial results will depend upon many factors, most of which are beyond our capability to control or predict. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the scope and duration of stay-at-home policies and business closures and restrictions, government imposed or recommended suspensions of elective surgeries and procedures, continued declines in patient volumes for an indeterminable length of time, increases in the number of uninsured and underinsured patients as a result of higher sustained rates of unemployment, incremental expenses required for supplies and personal protective equipment, and changes in professional and general liability exposure. Because of these and other uncertainties, we cannot estimate the length or severity of the impact of COVID-19 on our business. Decreases in cash flows and results of operations may have an impact on the inputs and assumptions used in significant accounting estimates, including estimated implicit price concessions related to uninsured patient accounts, professional and general liability reserves, and potential impairments of goodwill and long-lived assets.