Accounts Receivable

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Receivables [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable:

Accounts receivable consists of the following (in millions):

	As of December 31,
	2017		2016
Current:
Patient accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $60.9 million in 2017; $53.9 million in 2016	$	459.5	$	432.0
Other accounts receivable	12.6		11.8
	472.1		443.8
Noncurrent patient accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $52.2 million in 2017; $49.5 million in 2016	129.1		125.9
Accounts receivable, net	$	601.2	$	569.7

Because the resolution of claims that are part of Medicare audit programs can take in excess of three years, we review the patient receivables that are part of this adjudication process to determine their appropriate classification as either current or noncurrent. Amounts considered noncurrent are included in Other long-term assets in our consolidated balance sheet.

At December 31, 2017 and 2016, our allowance for doubtful accounts represented approximately 16.1% and 15.6%, respectively, of the total patient due accounts receivable balance.

The following is the activity related to our allowance for doubtful accounts (in millions):

For the Year Ended December 31,	Balance at Beginning of Period		Additions and Charges to Expense		Deductions and Accounts Written Off			Balance at End of Period
2017	$	103.4	$	52.4	$	(42.7	)	$	113.1
2016	$	71.6	$	61.2	$	(29.4	)	$	103.4
2015	$	43.0	$	47.2	$	(18.6	)	$	71.6