Condensed Consolidated Income Statements - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 11,451	$ 10,696	$ 34,403	$ 32,052
Salaries and benefits	5,377	5,081	15,940	14,878
Supplies	1,890	1,777	5,722	5,369
Other operating expenses	2,097	2,075	6,325	5,970
Equity in earnings of affiliates	(9)	(13)	(25)	(36)
Depreciation and amortization	582	539	1,697	1,581
Interest expense	442	427	1,309	1,257
Gain on sales of facilities	(6)	(7)	(420)	(10)
Losses on retirement of debt	9	39	9	39
Total expenses including equity in earnings of affiliates	10,382	9,918	30,557	29,048
Income before income taxes	1,069	778	3,846	3,004
Provision for income taxes	173	248	702	902
Net income	896	530	3,144	2,102
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	137	104	421	360
Net income attributable to HCA Healthcare, Inc.	$ 759	$ 426	$ 2,723	$ 1,742
Per share data:
Basic earnings	$ 2.20	$ 1.18	$ 7.82	$ 4.77
Diluted earnings	$ 2.15	$ 1.15	$ 7.65	$ 4.64
Shares used in earnings per share calculations (in millions):
Basic	345,823	360,170	348,411	365,398
Diluted	353,639	369,834	356,124	375,013