# COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS INC (CYH) FY 2024 MD&A

Verbatim Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis from COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS INC's 10-K for fiscal year 2024.

SEC filing source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1108109/000095017025023242/cyh-20241231.htm
Accession: 0000950170-25-023242
Filing date: 2025-02-19
Report date: 2024-12-31
Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary.
Confidence: high

Company profile: /company/CYH/
All MD&A years: /company/CYH/mda/
Previous year: /company/CYH/mda/fy2023/ (FY 2023)
Next year: /company/CYH/mda/fy2025/ (FY 2025)

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

You should read this discussion together with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

Executive Overview

We are one of the nation’s largest healthcare companies. Our affiliates are leading providers of healthcare services, developing and operating healthcare delivery systems in 39 distinct markets across 15 states. As of December 31, 2024, our subsidiaries own or lease 76 affiliated hospitals, with more than 11,000 beds, and operate more than 1,000 sites of care, including physician practices, urgent care centers, freestanding emergency departments, occupational medicine clinics, imaging centers, cancer centers and ambulatory surgery centers. We generate revenues by providing a broad range of general and specialized hospital healthcare services and outpatient services to patients in the communities in which we are located. For the hospitals and other sites of care that we own and operate, we are paid for our services by governmental agencies, private insurers and directly by the patients we serve.

Acquisition, Divestiture and Closure Activity

During the year ended December 31, 2024, we paid approximately $25 million to acquire the operating assets and related businesses of certain physician practices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and other ancillary businesses that operate within the communities served by our hospitals. The purchase price for these transactions was primarily allocated to property and equipment, intangible assets, working capital, noncontrolling interests and goodwill.

During 2024, we completed the divestiture of two hospitals. These hospitals represented annual net operating revenues in 2023 of approximately $198 million and we received total net proceeds of approximately $174 million in connection with these dispositions. These total net proceeds do not include additional cash consideration which may be received in connection with the sale of Tennova Healthcare – Cleveland that was completed on August 1, 2024 (beyond the approximately $160 million in cash received at closing), which additional payments are contingent upon potential modifications to supplemental reimbursement programs as more specifically provided in the asset purchase agreement underlying the transaction. Such modifications are not complete as of December 31, 2024 and an estimate of consideration that may be received by the Company in 2025 has therefore not been recognized.

During 2023, we completed the divestiture of eight hospitals and the sale of a majority interest in one hospital. These hospitals represented annual net operating revenues in 2022 of approximately $594 million and we received total net proceeds of approximately $518 million in connection with these dispositions, inclusive of approximately $85 million received at a preliminary closing on December 30, 2022 in connection with the disposition of Greenbrier Valley Medical Center.

During 2022, we completed the divestiture of one hospital. This hospital represented annual net operating revenues in 2021 of approximately $18 million, and we received total net proceeds of less than $1 million in connection with this disposition.

The following table provides a summary of hospitals that we divested (or, in the case of Lutheran Rehabilitation Hospital, in which the Company sold a majority interest) during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022:

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["Hospital","","Buyer","","City, State","","Licensed Beds","","Effective Date"],["2024 Divestitures:"],["Tennova Healthcare - Cleveland","","Hamilton Health Care Systems, Inc.","","Cleveland, TN","","351","","August 1, 2024"],["Davis Regional Medical Center","","Iredell Memorial Hospital","","Statesville, NC","","144","","October 1, 2024"],["2023 Divestitures:"],["Greenbrier Valley Medical Center","","Vandalia Health, Inc.","","Ronceverte, WV","","122","","January 1, 2023"],["Plateau Medical Center","","Vandalia Health, Inc.","","Oak Hill, WV","","25","","April 1, 2023"],["Medical Center of South Arkansas","","SARH Holdings, Inc.","","El Dorado, AR","","166","","July 1, 2023"],["Lutheran Rehabilitation Hospital","","Select Medical Corporation","","Fort Wayne, IN","","36","","September 1, 2023"],["AllianceHealth Ponca City","","Integris Health","","Ponca City, OK","","140","","November 1, 2023"],["AllianceHealth Woodward","","Integris Health","","Woodward, OK","","87","","November 1, 2023"],["Bravera Health Brooksville","","Tampa General Hospital","","Brooksville, FL","","120","","December 1, 2023"],["Bravera Health Spring Hill","","Tampa General Hospital","","Spring Hill, FL","","124","","December 1, 2023"],["Bravera Health Seven Rivers","","Tampa General Hospital","","Crystal River, FL","","128","","December 1, 2023"],["2022 Divestiture:"],["AllianceHealth Seminole","","SSM Health Care of Oklahoma, Inc.","","Seminole, OK","","32","","July 1, 2022"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

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During the three months ended September 30, 2022, we completed the closure of Shorepoint Health Venice hospital (312 licensed beds) in Venice, Florida. We recorded an impairment charge of approximately $29 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, to adjust the fair value of the long-lived assets of this hospital, including property and equipment and capitalized software costs, based on their estimated fair value.

During the three months ended September 30, 2022, the provision of inpatient services and substantially all outpatient services ceased at First Hospital Wyoming Valley (psychiatric hospital) (149 licensed beds) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, resulting in the closure of this facility being substantially complete at September 30, 2022. We completed the closure of First Hospital Wyoming Valley during the three months ended December 31, 2022. We recorded an impairment charge of approximately $15 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, to adjust the fair value of the long-lived assets of this hospital, including property and equipment and capitalized software costs, based on their estimated fair value.

Effective December 31, 2022, the lease for AllianceHealth Clinton (56 licensed beds) in Clinton, Oklahoma expired and was not renewed. We recorded an impairment charge of approximately $1 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 in conjunction with exiting the lease to operate this hospital.

On November 7, 2024, we entered into a definitive agreement to sell our 50% interest in Merit Health Biloxi (153 licensed beds) in Biloxi, Mississippi, to an affiliate of Memorial Hospital of Gulfport, which had a preexisting 50% ownership interest in Merit Health Biloxi. This divestiture was completed on February 1, 2025.

In addition to hospitals divested as reflected above, we have entered into definitive agreements to sell four hospitals as noted below where the divestiture has not yet been completed. As previously disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K, on November 22, 2024, we entered into a definitive agreement to sell ShorePoint Health Port Charlotte (254 licensed beds) in Port Charlotte, Florida, certain assets of ShorePoint Health Punta Gorda (208 licensed beds) in Punta Gorda, Florida, and certain ancillary businesses related to such facilities to subsidiaries of Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation. Due to the effects of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, the Punta Gorda hospital has indefinitely suspended inpatient operations. As previously disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K, on December 11, 2024, we entered into a definitive agreement to sell Lake Norman Regional Medical Center (123 licensed beds) in Mooresville, North Carolina, and related businesses, to Duke University Health System, Inc. Finally, on January 29, 2025, we entered into a definitive agreement to sell our 50% interest in Merit Health Madison (67 licensed beds) in Canton, Mississippi, to an affiliate of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, which currently has a 50% ownership interest in Merit Health Madison. There can be no assurance that these transactions will be completed, or if these transactions are completed, the ultimate timing of the completion of these transactions.

Moreover, we may give consideration to divesting certain additional hospitals and non-hospital businesses. Generally, these hospitals and non-hospital businesses are not in one of our strategically beneficial services areas, are less complementary to our business strategy and/or have lower operating margins. In addition, we continue to receive interest from potential acquirers for certain of our hospitals and non-hospital businesses. As such, we may sell additional hospitals and/or non-hospital businesses if we consider any such disposition to be in our best interests. We expect proceeds from any such divestitures to be used for general corporate purposes (including potential debt repayments and/or debt repurchases) and capital expenditures.

Overview of Operating Results

Net operating revenues increased from approximately $12.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023 to approximately $12.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024. On a same-store basis, net operating revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased $653 million, compared to the same period in 2023.

We had net loss of $(362) million during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to net income of $16 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2024 included the following:

•
an after-tax benefit of $27 million for gain from early extinguishment of debt,

•
an after-tax charge of $40 million for expense related to costs associated with our multi-year initiative to modernize and consolidate technology platforms and associated processes,

•
an after-tax charge of $250 million resulting from the impairment of long-lived assets that were idled, disposed or held-for-sale, a loss on the sale of one hospital and a gain on the sale of one hospital,

•
an after-tax charge of $116 million for a change in estimate for professional liability claims accrual.

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Net income for the year ended December 31, 2023 included the following:

•
an after-tax charge of $28 million for expense related to government and other legal matters and related costs,

•
an after-tax benefit of $61 million for gain from early extinguishment of debt,

•
an after-tax charge of $17 million for expense related to costs associated with our multi-year initiative to modernize and consolidate technology platforms and associated processes,

•
an after-tax benefit of $42 million resulting from gains on the sale of five hospitals and the sale of a majority interest in one hospital, offset by losses on the sale of three hospitals and impairment of long-lived assets that were idled, disposed or held-for-sale, and

•
an after-tax charge of $10 million for restructuring charges related to the closure of businesses as well as service line closures and consolidations at certain hospitals.

Consolidated inpatient admissions for the year ended December 31, 2024, decreased 3.2%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, and consolidated adjusted admissions for the year ended December 31, 2024, decreased 3.4%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. Same-store inpatient admissions for the year ended December 31, 2024, increased 3.2%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, and same-store adjusted admissions for the year ended December 31, 2024, increased 2.7%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.

Self-pay revenues represented approximately 1.3% and 1.1% of net operating revenues for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The amount of foregone revenue related to providing charity care services as a percentage of net operating revenues was approximately 9.5% and 10.4% for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Direct and indirect costs incurred in providing charity care services as a percentage of net operating revenues was approximately 0.9% and 1.1% for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Overview of Legislative and Other Governmental Developments

The healthcare industry is subject to changing political, regulatory, economic and other influences that may affect our business. Regulatory uncertainty has increased as a result of recent decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court that affect review of federal agency actions, including Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and the outcome of the 2024 federal elections. These U.S. Supreme Court decisions increase judicial scrutiny of agency authority, shift greater responsibility for statutory interpretation to courts and expand the timeline in which a plaintiff can sue regulators. These decisions are expected to significantly impact government agency regulation, particularly within the heavily regulated healthcare industry, in part through an increase in legal challenges to healthcare regulations and agency guidance and decisions. Federal agencies oversee, regulate and otherwise affect many aspects of our business, including through Medicare and Medicaid policies, policies affecting the size of the uninsured population and enforcement and interpretation of fraud and abuse laws. These recent Supreme Court decisions may also result in inconsistent judicial interpretations and delays in and other impacts to agency rulemaking and legislative processes. The outcome of the 2024 federal elections, including Republican control of both the executive and legislative branches, also increases regulatory uncertainty and the potential for significant policy changes.

In recent years, the U.S. Congress and certain state legislatures have introduced and passed a large number of proposals and legislation affecting the healthcare system, including laws intended to increase access to health insurance and reduce healthcare costs and government spending. For example, the Affordable Care Act, affects how healthcare services are covered, delivered and reimbursed, and expanded health insurance coverage through a combination of public program expansion and private sector health insurance reforms. However, changes in the law’s implementation, subsequent legislation and regulations, state initiatives and other factors have affected or may affect the number of individuals that elect or are able to obtain public or private health insurance and the scope of such coverage, if obtained. For example, COVID-19 relief legislation temporarily enhanced subsidies available for individuals to purchase coverage through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Subsequent legislation extended these enhanced subsidies through 2025, but further extension is uncertain, and expiration of the enhanced subsidies may significantly increase the uninsured rate. Other legislative and executive branch initiatives related to health insurance could also result in increased prices for consumers purchasing health insurance coverage or may permit the sale of insurance plans that do not satisfy current Affordable Care Act consumer protections, which could increase rates of uninsured and underinsured individuals and destabilize insurance markets.

Of critical importance to us is the potential impact of any changes specific to the Medicaid program, including changes resulting from legislative and administrative actions at the federal and state levels, particularly those related to funding and expansion provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The states with the greatest reductions in the number of uninsured adult residents have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Of the 15 states in which we operated hospitals as of December 31, 2024, nine states have taken action to expand their Medicaid programs. At this time, the other six states have opted out of Medicaid expansion, including Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Texas, where we operated a significant number of hospitals at December 31,

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2024. Changes to federal funding formulas for Medicaid could have a particularly significant impact in states that expanded Medicaid, especially if federal contributions for Medicaid expansion populations decrease and states are unable to offset the reductions. Further, some states have trigger laws that would end their Medicaid expansion or require other changes if federal funding is reduced. CMS administrators may also make changes to Medicaid payment models and may grant states additional flexibilities in the administration of Medicaid programs, including by allowing additional states to condition Medicaid enrollment on work or other community engagement or to impose other eligibility or coverage restrictions.

There is a trend across the healthcare industry toward value-based purchasing. CMS adjusts Medicare reimbursement for hospitals and other providers based on quality measures and administers various ACOs and alternative payment model demonstration projects. Other recent reform initiatives and proposals at the federal and state levels include those focused on price transparency, and limiting out-of-network billing. For example, the No Surprises Act imposes various requirements on providers and health plans intended to prevent “surprise” medical bills.

Throughout the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, federal and state governments passed legislation, promulgated regulations and took other administrative actions intended to assist healthcare providers in providing care to COVID-19 and other patients during the public health emergency and to provide financial relief. The public health emergency declared by HHS in response to the pandemic expired in May 2023. We received pandemic relief fund payments through various federal, state and local programs of approximately $161 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. Approximately $173 million was recognized as pandemic relief funds within the consolidated statements of (loss) income during the year ended December 31, 2022. We did not receive or recognize any significant level of payments or benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, or other COVID-19 related stimulus and relief legislation during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and we do not expect to receive or recognize any significant level of payments or benefit under the CARES Act and other existing legislation related to COVID-19 in future periods.

The federal deficit and other federal and state budgetary pressures have affected government healthcare program expenditures, and we anticipate these effects will continue. For example, the payment reductions required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and subsequent legislation are currently set to continue through the first eight months of federal fiscal year 2032. It is possible that future deficit reduction legislation will impose additional spending reductions.

Reimbursement by government programs may be affected by broad shifts in payment policy. For example, recent changes related to the 340B Drug Pricing Program have implications for all hospitals reimbursed under the outpatient PPS, including those, like ours, that do not participate in the program. In 2018, CMS implemented a payment policy that reduced Medicare payments for 340B hospitals for most drugs obtained at 340B-discounted rates and that resulted in increased payments for non-340B hospitals. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, in American Hospital Association v. Becerra, invalidated past payment cuts for hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision and to achieve budget neutrality, CMS reduced payment rates for non-drug services under the outpatient PPS for calendar year 2023, and lump sum payments were distributed to affected 340B providers as the remedy for calendar years 2018 through 2022. Moreover, in order to comply with budget neutrality requirements, HHS finalized a corresponding offset in future non-drug item and service payments for all outpatient PPS providers (except new providers) that will reduce the outpatient PPS conversion factor by 0.5% annually. This adjustment will start in calendar year 2026 and continue for approximately 16 years. This reduction to payment rates adversely affected our results for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, and the reduction to the outpatient PPS conversion factor as noted above is anticipated to adversely impact our results beginning in 2026.

In addition, future payment adjustments may apply to hospitals reimbursed under the inpatient PPS as a result of a 2024 court decision that vacated a low wage index policy CMS adopted in 2020. Under the policy, CMS increased the wage index values for hospitals with low wage index, thereby increasing their reimbursement, and offset these increases by decreasing reimbursement for all other hospitals. CMS addressed the impact of the court decision prospectively in its final rule updating inpatient hospital payment rates and policies for federal fiscal year 2025, removing the upward reimbursement adjustment for the low-wage hospitals and the related budget neutrality factor that decreased reimbursement for all other hospitals. However, it is not yet clear whether, when, or how the agency will address the impact of the low wage policy in federal fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

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Sources of Revenue

The following table presents the approximate percentages of net operating revenues by payor source for the periods indicated. The data for the periods presented are not strictly comparable due to the effect that businesses acquired, sold, closed or opened during each of the respective periods, as applicable, have had on these statistics.

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["","","Year Ended December 31,"],["","","2024","","","2023","","","2022"],["Medicare","","","18.1","%","","","19.9","%","","","20.9","%"],["Medicare Managed Care","","","17.7","","","","16.8","","","","16.1"],["Medicaid","","","14.8","","","","14.3","","","","14.8"],["Managed Care and other third-party payors","","","48.1","","","","47.9","","","","47.5"],["Self-pay","","","1.3","","","","1.1","","","","0.7"],["Total","","","100.0","%","","","100.0","%","","","100.0","%"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

As shown above, we receive a substantial portion of our revenues from the Medicare, Medicare Managed Care and Medicaid programs. Included in Managed Care and other third-party payors is net operating revenues from insurance companies with which we have insurance provider contracts, insurance companies for which we do not have insurance provider contracts, workers’ compensation carriers and non-patient service revenue, such as gain (loss) on investments, rental income and cafeteria sales. We generally expect the portion of revenues received from the Medicare, Medicare Managed Care and Medicaid programs to increase over the long-term due to the general aging of the population and other factors. There has been a trend toward increased enrollment in Medicare Managed Care and Medicaid managed care programs, which may adversely affect our net operating revenues. We may also be impacted by regulatory requirements imposed on insurers, such as minimum medical-loss ratios and specific benefit requirements. Furthermore, in the normal course of business, managed care programs, insurance companies and employers actively negotiate the amounts paid to hospitals. Our relationships with payors may be impacted by price transparency initiatives and out-of-network billing restrictions, including those in the No Surprises Act. There can be no assurance that we will retain our existing reimbursement arrangements or that third-party payors will not attempt to further reduce the rates they pay for our services.

Net operating revenues include amounts estimated by management to be reimbursable by Medicare and Medicaid under prospective payment systems and provisions of cost-based reimbursement and other payment methods. In addition, we are reimbursed by non-governmental payors using a variety of payment methodologies. Amounts we receive for the treatment of patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid and non-governmental payors are generally less than our standard billing rates. We account for the differences between the estimated program reimbursement rates and our standard billing rates as contractual allowance adjustments, which we deduct from gross revenues to arrive at net operating revenues. Final settlements under some of these programs are subject to adjustment based on administrative review and audit by third parties. We account for adjustments to previous program reimbursement estimates as contractual allowance adjustments and report them in the periods that such adjustments become known. Contractual allowance adjustments related to final settlements and previous program reimbursement estimates impacted net operating revenues by an insignificant amount in each of the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.

The payment rates under the Medicare program for hospital inpatient and outpatient acute care services are based on prospective payment systems, which depend upon a patient’s diagnosis or the clinical complexity of services provided to a patient, among other factors. These rates are indexed for inflation annually, although increases have historically been less than actual inflation. CMS has published the final rule establishing payment rates for federal fiscal year 2025 (which began October 1, 2024) for hospital inpatient acute care services reimbursed under the prospective system, increasing payment rates by approximately 2.9%. This increase reflects a market basket increase of 3.4%, reduced by a 0.5 percentage point productivity adjustment. Hospitals that do not submit required patient quality data are subject to a reduction in payments. We are complying with this data submission requirement. Payments may also be affected by various other adjustments, including those that depend on patient-specific or hospital specific factors. For example, the “two midnight rule” establishes admission and medical review criteria for inpatient services limiting when services to Medicare beneficiaries are payable as inpatient hospital services. Reductions in the rate of increase or overall reductions in Medicare reimbursement may cause a decline in the growth of our net operating revenues.

Payment rates under the Medicaid program vary by state. In addition to the base payment rates for specific claims for services rendered to Medicaid enrollees, several states utilize supplemental reimbursement programs to make separate payments that are not specifically tied to an individual’s care, some of which offset a portion of the cost of providing care to Medicaid and indigent patients. These programs are funded with a combination of state and federal resources, including, in certain instances, fees or taxes levied on the providers. The programs are generally authorized by CMS for a specified period of time and require CMS’s approval to be extended. We are unable to predict whether or on what terms CMS will extend the supplemental programs in the states in which we operate. Under these supplemental programs, we recognize revenue and related expenses in the period in which amounts are estimable

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and payment is reasonably assured. Reimbursement under these programs is reflected in net operating revenues and included as Medicaid revenue in the table above, and fees, taxes or other program related costs are reflected in other operating expenses.

Results of Operations

Our hospitals and other sites of care offer a broad variety of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services. These include general acute care, emergency room, general and specialty surgery, critical care, internal medicine, obstetrics, diagnostic services, psychiatric and rehabilitation services. Utilization of services and our results of operations are dependent on a multitude of factors including seasonal fluctuations in demand. Historically, the strongest demand for hospital services generally occurs during the winter months, and the weakest demand generally occurs during the summer months.

The following tables summarize, for the periods indicated, selected operating data.

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
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[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["","","Year Ended December 31,"],["","","2024","","","2023"],["Percentage increase (decrease) from prior year:"],["Net operating revenues","","","1.2","%","","","2.3","%"],["Admissions (b)","","","(3.2",")","","","0.3"],["Adjusted admissions (c)","","","(3.4",")","","","1.7"],["Average length of stay (d)","","","(2.2",")","","","(4.3",")"],["Net (loss) income attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. stockholders","","","(288.0",")","","","(389.1",")"],["Same-store percentage increase from prior year (e):"],["Net operating revenues","","","5.5","%","","","4.8","%"],["Admissions (b)","","","3.2","","","","3.5"],["Adjusted admissions (c)","","","2.7","","","","5.3"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

(a)
Operating expenses include salaries and benefits, supplies, other operating expenses, and lease cost and rent, net of the reduction in operating expenses resulting from the recognition of pandemic relief funds.

(b)
Admissions represents the number of patients admitted for inpatient treatment.

(c)
Adjusted admissions is a general measure of combined inpatient and outpatient volume. Adjusted admissions is computed by multiplying admissions by gross patient revenues and then dividing that number by gross inpatient revenues.

(d)
Average length of stay represents the average number of days inpatients stay in our hospitals.

(e)
Excludes information for businesses sold or closed during each of the respective periods, as applicable.

Items (b) – (e) are metrics used to manage our performance. These metrics provide useful insight to investors about the volume and acuity of services we provide, which aid in evaluating our financial results.

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Year Ended December 31, 2024 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023

Net operating revenues increased by 1.2% to approximately $12.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024, from approximately $12.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023. Net operating revenues on a same-store basis from hospitals that were operated throughout both periods increased $653 million, or 5.5%, during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. On a period-over-period basis, the increase in same-store net operating revenues was primarily attributable to higher inpatient and outpatient volumes, increased reimbursement rates, favorable changes in payor mix and higher revenues from supplemental reimbursement programs, partially offset by lower acuity and increased patient claim denials. Non-same-store net operating revenues decreased $509 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, with the decrease attributable primarily to the divestiture of hospitals during 2024 and 2023. On a consolidated basis, inpatient admissions decreased by 3.2% and adjusted admissions decreased by 3.4% during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. On a same-store basis, net operating revenues per adjusted admission increased 2.8%, while inpatient admissions increased by 3.2% and adjusted admissions increased by 2.7% for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.

Operating expenses, as a percentage of net operating revenues, increased from 92.3% during the year ended December 31, 2023 to 95.7% during the year ended December 31, 2024. Operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization and impairment and (gain) loss on sale of businesses, as a percentage of net operating revenues, increased from 89.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023 to 89.5% for the year ended December 31, 2024. Salaries and benefits decreased as a percentage of net operating revenues from 43.4% for the year ended December 31, 2023 to 42.9% for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to an increase in net operating revenues, partially offset by increased hiring commensurate with lower utilization of contract labor. Supplies, as a percentage of net operating revenues, decreased from 16.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023 to 15.4% for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to changes in the mix of services, the benefit of cost savings initiatives and an increase in net operating revenues. Other operating expenses, as a percentage of net operating revenues, increased from 27.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023 to 28.8% for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to a change in estimate for the professional liability claims accrual, increased expense for supplemental reimbursement programs and outsourced medical specialists, partially offset by decreased costs for contract labor and an increase in net operating revenues. Lease cost and rent, as a percentage of net operating revenues, decreased from 2.6% for the year ended December 31, 2023 to 2.4% for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Depreciation and amortization, as a percentage of net operating revenues, decreased to 3.8% for the year ended December 31, 2024 from 4.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to an increase in net operating revenues and a reduction in the amortization of capitalized internal-use software.

Impairment and (gain) loss on sale of businesses, net was expense of $301 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to a gain of $87 million for the same period in 2023. The expense in 2024 and the gain in 2023 related primarily to divestiture activity during each respective period as discussed more specifically under “Acquisition, Divestiture and Closure Activity” herein.

Interest expense, net, increased by $30 million to $860 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $830 million for the same period in 2023. This was primarily due to our refinancing activity during 2024 and 2023.

Gain from early extinguishment of debt of $25 million was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $72 million in the same period in 2023, as a result of our refinancing activity during 2024 and 2023.

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, as a percentage of net operating revenues, remained consistent at 0.1% for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

The net results of the above-mentioned changes resulted in (loss) income before income taxes changing by $490 million to a loss of $(283) million for the year ended December 31, 2024 from income of $207 million for the same period in 2023.

Our provision for income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was $79 million and $191 million, respectively, and the effective tax rates were (27.9)% and 92.3% for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The decrease in the provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, was primarily due to a decrease in non-deductible goodwill related to divested hospitals and a decrease in income before income taxes in 2024 compared to 2023. The difference in our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, was due to the aforementioned decrease in the provision for income taxes and the decrease in (loss) income before taxes.

Net (loss) income, as a percentage of net operating revenues, was (2.9)% for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to 0.1% for the same period in 2023.

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Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, as a percentage of net operating revenues, was 1.2% for both of the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

Net loss attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. was $(516) million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $(133) million for the same period in 2023.

Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2022

Net operating revenues increased by 2.3% to approximately $12.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023, from approximately $12.2 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022. Net operating revenues on a same-store basis from hospitals that were operated throughout both periods increased $552 million, or 4.8%, during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. On a period-over-period basis, the increase in net operating revenues was primarily attributable to higher inpatient and outpatient volumes, increased reimbursement rates, higher acuity and an increase in non-patient revenue, partially offset by unfavorable changes in payor mix. Non-same-store net operating revenues decreased $273 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, with the decrease attributable primarily to the divestiture of hospitals during 2023 and 2022. On a consolidated basis, inpatient admissions increased by 0.3% and adjusted admissions increased by 1.7% during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. On a same-store basis, net operating revenues per adjusted admission decreased 0.5%, while inpatient admissions increased by 3.5% and adjusted admissions increased by 5.3% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.

Operating expenses, as a percentage of net operating revenues, decreased from 93.3% during the year ended December 31, 2022 to 92.3% during the year ended December 31, 2023. Operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization and impairment and (gain) loss on sale of businesses, as a percentage of net operating revenues, increased from 88.3% for the year ended December 31, 2022 to 89.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023. Salaries and benefits decreased as a percentage of net operating revenues from 43.6% for the year ended December 31, 2022 to 43.4% for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to an increase in net operating revenues, partially offset by increased hiring commensurate with lower utilization of contract labor. Supplies, as a percentage of net operating revenues, decreased from 16.2% for the year ended December 31, 2022 to 16.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023. Other operating expenses, as a percentage of net operating revenues, decreased from 27.3% for the year ended December 31, 2022 to 27.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to an increase in net operating revenues and lower utilization of and rates paid for contract labor, partially offset by higher costs for professional liability insurance and higher rates paid for outsourced medical specialists. Lease cost and rent, as a percentage of net operating revenues, remained consistent at 2.6% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. Pandemic relief funds, as a percentage of net operating revenues, were 0.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to (1.4)% for the same period in 2022.

Depreciation and amortization, as a percentage of net operating revenues, decreased to 4.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023 from 4.4% for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Impairment and (gain) loss on sale of businesses, net was a gain of $87 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to expense of $71 million for the same period in 2022. The gain in 2023 and the expense in 2022 related primarily to divestiture activity during each respective period as discussed more specifically under “Acquisition, Divestiture and Closure Activity” herein.

Interest expense, net, decreased by $28 million to $830 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $858 million for the same period in 2022. This was primarily due to our refinancing activity during 2023 and 2022.

Gain from early extinguishment of debt of $72 million was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to a gain from early extinguishment of debt of $253 million in the same period in 2022, as a result of our refinancing activity during 2023 and 2022.

There was no gain from the CoreTrust Transaction during the year ended December 31, 2023. Gain from the CoreTrust Transaction of $119 million was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2022.

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, as a percentage of net operating revenues, remained consistent at 0.1% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

The net results of the above-mentioned changes resulted in income before income taxes decreasing $142 million to $207 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $349 million for the same period in 2022.

Our provision for income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $191 million and $170 million, respectively, and the effective tax rates were 92.3% and 48.7% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase in the provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to non-deductible goodwill related to divested hospitals in 2023 compared to 2022. The difference in our effective tax rate for the year ended

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December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, was due to the aforementioned increase in the provision for income taxes and the decrease in income before taxes.

Net income, as a percentage of net operating revenues, was 0.1% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 1.5% for the same period in 2022.

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, as a percentage of net operating revenues, was 1.2% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 1.1% for the same period in 2022.

Net (loss) income attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. was net loss of $(133) million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to net income of $46 million for the same period in 2022.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

2024 Compared to 2023

Net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $480 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $210 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in cash provided by operating activities is primarily due to increased collections of patient accounts receivable and lower cash paid for interest, partially offset by increased income tax payments. Total cash paid for interest decreased to approximately $741 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, from approximately $801 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds received, resulted in a net payment of $171 million and $91 million during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Our net cash used in investing activities was approximately $275 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to approximately $26 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of approximately $249 million. The increase in net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the prior year, was impacted by a decrease of $258 million in cash proceeds from dispositions of hospitals and other ancillary operations and a decrease of $96 million in cash from the net impact of the purchases and sales of available-for-sale debt and equity securities, partially offset by a decrease of $107 million in cash used for the purchase of property and equipment.

Our net cash used in financing activities was $206 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $264 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $58 million. This was primarily due to the net impact of our debt borrowings and repayments during the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.

2023 Compared to 2022

Net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $210 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $300 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in cash provided by operating activities is partially the result of the payment of accumulated benefits under the Company’s supplemental executive retirement plan, or SERP. Because securities are held in a rabbi trust to be used for the payment of SERP benefits, the aforementioned cash outflow is offset by inflows from sales of investments, which are reflected as a cash inflow from investing activities as noted below. Total cash paid for interest decreased to approximately $801 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, from approximately $835 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds received, resulted in a net payment of $91 million and $6 million during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Our net cash used in investing activities was approximately $26 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to approximately $259 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of approximately $233 million. The decrease in net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the prior year, was primarily impacted by an increase of $99 million in cash from the net impact of the purchases and sales of available-for-sale debt and equity securities, including securities sold to pay SERP benefits as noted above, an increase of $343 million in cash proceeds from dispositions of hospitals and other ancillary operations, a decrease of $8 million in cash used to purchase investments in unconsolidated affiliates, an increase of $29 million in cash paid for acquisitions of facilities and other related businesses, an increase of $52 million in cash used for the purchase of property and equipment, an increase of $5 million in cash used to purchase other investments, a decrease of $10 million in cash proceeds from the sale of property and equipment, and a decrease resulting from $121 million in cash representing our share of proceeds from the CoreTrust Transaction distributed during the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.

Our net cash used in financing activities was $264 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $430 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $166 million. This was primarily due to the net effect of our debt repayments, refinancing activities, and cash paid for deferred financing costs and other debt-related costs during the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.

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Liquidity

Net working capital was approximately $956 million and $1.1 billion at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Net working capital decreased by approximately $110 million between December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024. The decrease is primarily due to decreases in prepaid expenses and taxes and prepaid income taxes and increases in accrued interest, accrued liabilities for employee compensation and other current liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2024, partially offset by increases in patient accounts receivable and other current assets and decreases in current operating lease liabilities.

In addition to cash flows from operations, available sources of capital include amounts available under the asset-based loan (ABL) credit agreement, or the ABL Credit Agreement, as amended and restated on June 5, 2024, and anticipated access to public and private debt markets as well as proceeds from the disposition of hospitals or other investments such as our minority equity interests in various businesses, as applicable.

Pursuant to the ABL Credit Agreement, the lenders have extended to CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc., or CHS, a revolving asset-based loan facility. The maximum aggregate amount under the ABL Facility is $1.0 billion, subject to borrowing base capacity. At December 31, 2024, we had outstanding borrowings of $341 million and approximately $491 million of additional borrowing capacity (after taking into consideration $66 million of outstanding letters of credit) under the ABL Facility. Letters of credit were reduced during the year ended December 31, 2024 by $15 million, primarily in relation to a professional liability claim that was settled and funded during the year ended December 31, 2024. Principal amounts outstanding under the ABL Facility, if any, will be due and payable in full on June 5, 2029.

2024 Financing Activity

On June 5, 2024, CHS completed the offering of an additional $1.225 billion aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 10.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2032, or the Tack-On Notes, at an issue price of 102.000%, plus accrued and unpaid interest from December 22, 2023 to the closing date (which equaled approximately $60 million). The Tack-On Notes are part of the same series as, and rank equally with, the 10⅞% Senior Secured Notes due 2032 issued in December 2023. Proceeds from the offering of the Tack-On Notes, together with cash on hand, were used to redeem all of the remaining $1.116 billion of outstanding 8.000% Senior Secured Notes due 2026, to fund senior note repurchases in the amount of approximately $98 million resulting in the extinguishment of $130 million principal amount of the 6⅞% Senior Notes due 2028, pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes.

On June 5, 2024, the ABL Credit Agreement, as noted above, was amended and restated to, among other things, extend the maturity to June 5, 2029.

During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company extinguished approximately $143 million principal value of the 5⅝% Senior Secured Notes due 2027 through open market repurchases utilizing cash on hand. An immaterial pre-tax and after-tax loss from early extinguishment resulted from these repurchases.

2023 Financing Activity

On December 22, 2023, we completed a private offering of $1.000 billion aggregate principal amount of 10⅞% Senior Secured Notes due January 15, 2032, or the 10⅞% Senior Secured Notes due 2032. The proceeds of the offering were used, together with cash on hand, to redeem $985 million aggregate principal amount of 8% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 via a tender offer, which was funded on December 28, 2023, and to pay related fees and expenses. The 10⅞% Senior Secured Notes due 2032 bear interest at a rate of 10.875% per year payable semi-annually in arrears on February 15 and August 15 of each year, commencing on August 15, 2024.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we extinguished a portion of certain series of our outstanding notes through a combination of open market and privately negotiated repurchases, as follows (in millions):

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["","","Principal Amount"],["6% Senior Secured Notes due 2029","","$","256"],["6\u215e% Junior-Priority Secured Notes due 2029","","","142"],["6\u215b% Junior-Priority Secured Notes due 2030","","","4"],["Total principal amount of debt extinguished","","$","402"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

64

A pre-tax gain from early extinguishment of debt of approximately $72 million was recognized associated with these financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2023.

Additional Liquidity Information

For information regarding our amended and restated asset-based loan (ABL) credit agreement and our other outstanding indebtedness, see Note 6 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Our ability to meet the restricted covenants and financial ratios and tests in the ABL Facility and the indentures governing our outstanding notes can be affected by events beyond our control, and we cannot assure you that we will meet those tests. A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default under the ABL Facility and/or the indentures that govern our outstanding notes. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under the ABL Facility or indentures that govern our outstanding notes, all amounts outstanding under the ABL Facility and the indentures that govern our outstanding notes may become immediately due and payable and all commitments under the ABL Facility to extend further credit may be terminated.

As of December 31, 2024, approximately $20 million of our outstanding debt of approximately $11.5 billion is due within the next 12 months and approximately 97% of our outstanding debt has a fixed rate of interest. Our debt as a percentage of total capitalization was 117% at December 31, 2024, compared to 111% at December 31, 2023.

Net proceeds from divestitures, if any, are expected to be used for general corporate purposes (including potential debt repayments and/or debt repurchases) and capital expenditures.

Challenging economic conditions may negatively impact our service mix, revenue mix, payor mix and patient volumes, as well as our ability to collect outstanding receivables. Any material increase in our billing cycles or deterioration in the collectability of our accounts receivable would adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations and may require an increased level of working capital.

We believe that our current levels of cash, internally generated cash flows and current levels of availability for additional borrowing under the ABL Facility, our anticipated continued access to the capital markets, and the use of proceeds from any potential future dispositions as noted above, will be sufficient to finance acquisitions, capital expenditures, working capital requirements, and any debt repurchases or other debt repayments we may elect to make or be required to make through the next 12 months and the foreseeable future thereafter. However, the then current macroeconomic conditions, financial and capital market conditions, and the then current interest rate environment may adversely impact our ability to refinance our indebtedness or otherwise access capital on favorable terms, or at all.

As noted above, during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we extinguished a portion of certain series of our outstanding notes through open market and privately negotiated repurchases, and we may elect from time to time to continue to purchase our outstanding debt in open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. Any such debt repurchases will depend upon prevailing market conditions, our liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions, applicable securities laws requirements, and other factors.

Capital Resources

Material cash requirements from known contractual and other obligations primarily consist of purchase obligations, long-term debt and related interest payments, operating leases, finance leasing and financing obligations, and capital expenditures related to routine capital, information systems infrastructure and applications, replacement or de novo construction projects and bed expansion projects, certain commitments and other investments. Refer to Notes 6, 9 and 16 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for amounts outstanding at December 31, 2024 related to long-term debt, and related interest payments, operating leases, finance leasing and financing obligations, and certain commitments.

Purchase obligations include supplies and third-party services purchased in the normal course of business. Open purchase orders total $146 million at December 31, 2024 and substantially all such amounts are due in the next 12 months. Other investments include, among other things, purchases of investments in unconsolidated affiliates which are expected to be incurred within the next 24 months.

Cash expenditures for purchases of facilities and other related businesses were approximately $25 million in 2024, $38 million in 2023 and $9 million in 2022. Our expenditures for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, were primarily related to physician practices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and other ancillary businesses.

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Capital expenditures relate primarily to expansion and renovation of existing facilities, construction of additional access points such as freestanding emergency departments and ambulatory surgery centers, investments in higher acuity service lines and information technology infrastructure, as well as routine expenditures for equipment, minor renovations and other upgrades. Capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2024 totaled $360 million compared to $467 million in 2023 and $415 million in 2022. Included in the capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2022, were costs to construct replacement hospitals totaling $17 million, primarily related to the construction of a replacement facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Pursuant to a hospital purchase agreement from our March 1, 2016 acquisition of Northwest Health - Starke, formerly known as Starke Hospital, we committed to make an investment of up to $15 million toward the construction of a replacement facility in Knox, Indiana. Construction is required to be completed within five years of the date we enter into a new lease with Starke County, Indiana, the hospital lessor, or in the event we do not enter into a new lease with Starke County, construction shall be completed by September 30, 2026. We have not entered into a new lease with the lessor for Northwest Health - Starke.

In addition to the commitment to spend up to $15 million toward the construction of a replacement facility in Knox, Indiana, other off-balance sheet arrangements consist of letters of credit issued on the ABL Facility, primarily in support of potential insurance-related claims and specified outstanding bonds of approximately $66 million as well as approximately $9 million representing the maximum potential amount of future payments under physician recruiting guarantee commitments in excess of the liability recorded at December 31, 2024.

We expect total capital expenditures of approximately $350 million to $400 million in 2025.

Reimbursement, Legislative and Regulatory Changes

Ongoing legislative and regulatory efforts and judicial interpretations could reduce or otherwise adversely affect the payments we receive from Medicare and Medicaid and other payors. Within the statutory framework of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, there are substantial areas subject to administrative rulings, interpretations and discretion that are at times subject to court challenges, which may further affect payments made under those programs. We expect legal challenges to healthcare regulations and agency guidance, including those related to Medicare and Medicaid payment policies, to increase as a result of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions as noted above. The increased potential for legal challenges may result in delays in and other impacts to the agency rulemaking process. Further, the federal and state governments may reduce the funds available under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, require repayment of previously received funds or require more stringent utilization and quality reviews of hospital facilities. Additionally, there may be a continued rise in managed care programs and further restructuring of the financing and delivery of healthcare in the United States. These events could adversely impact our future financial results. We cannot estimate the impact of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement changes that have been enacted or otherwise determined or that are currently or may in the future be under consideration. We cannot predict whether additional reimbursement reductions will be made or whether any such changes or other restructuring of the financing and delivery of healthcare would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations, cash flow, capital resources and liquidity.

Critical Accounting Policies

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our consolidated financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Critical accounting policies are defined as those policies that involve a significant level of estimation uncertainty and have had or are reasonably likely to have a material impact on the financial condition or results of operations of the registrant. We believe that our critical accounting policies are limited to those described below. The following information should be read in conjunction with our significant accounting policies included in Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Revenue Recognition

Net operating revenues include amounts estimated by management to be reimbursable by Medicare and Medicaid under prospective payment systems and provisions of cost-reimbursement and other payment methods. In addition, we are reimbursed by non-governmental payors using a variety of payment methodologies. Amounts we receive for treatment of patients covered by these programs are generally less than our standard billing rates. Explicit price concessions are recorded for contractual allowances that are calculated and recorded through a combination of internally- and externally-developed data collection and analysis tools to automate the monthly estimation of required contractual allowances. Within these automated systems, payors’ historical paid claims data and

66

contracted amounts are utilized to calculate the contractual allowances. This data is updated on a monthly basis. All hospital contractual allowance calculations are subjected to monthly review by management to ensure reasonableness and accuracy. We account for the differences between the estimated program reimbursement rates and the standard billing rates as contractual allowance adjustments, which is one component of the deductions from gross revenues to arrive at net operating revenues. The process of estimating contractual allowances requires us to estimate the amount expected to be received based on payor contract provisions. The key assumption in this process is the estimated contractual reimbursement percentage, which is based on payor classification, historical paid claims data and, when applicable, application of the expected managed care plan reimbursement based on contract terms.

Due to the complexities involved in these estimates, actual payments we receive could be different from the amounts we estimate and record. If the actual contractual reimbursement percentage under government programs and managed care contracts differed by 1% at December 31, 2024 from our estimated reimbursement percentage, net loss for the year ended December 31, 2024 would have changed by approximately $100 million, and net accounts receivable at December 31, 2024 would have changed by $128 million. Final settlements under some of these programs are subject to adjustment based on administrative review and audit by third parties. We account for adjustments to previous program reimbursement estimates as contractual allowance adjustments and report them in the periods that such adjustments become known. Contractual allowance adjustments related to final settlements and previous program reimbursement estimates impacted net operating revenues by an insignificant amount for each of the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.

Patient Accounts Receivable

Substantially all of our accounts receivable are related to providing healthcare services to patients at our hospitals and affiliated businesses. Collection of these accounts receivable is our primary source of cash and is critical to our operating performance. Our primary collection risks relate to uninsured patients and outstanding patient balances for which the primary insurance payor has paid some but not all of the outstanding balance, with the remaining outstanding balance (generally deductibles and co-payments) owed by the patient. For all procedures scheduled in advance, our policy is to verify insurance coverage prior to the date of the procedure. Insurance coverage is not verified in advance of procedures for walk-in and emergency room patients.

We estimate any adjustments to the transaction price for implicit price concessions by reserving a percentage of all self-pay accounts receivable without regard to aging category, based on collection history, adjusted for expected recoveries and any anticipated changes in trends. Our ability to estimate the transaction price and any implicit price concessions is not impacted by not utilizing an aging of our net accounts receivable as we believe that substantially all of the risk exists at the point in time such accounts are identified as self-pay. The percentage used to reserve for all self-pay accounts is based on our collection history. We believe that we collect substantially all of our third-party insured receivables, which include receivables from governmental agencies.

Patient accounts receivable can be impacted by the effectiveness of our collection efforts and, as described in our significant accounting policies included in Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included under Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, numerous factors may affect the net realizable value of accounts receivable. If the actual collection percentage differed by 1% at December 31, 2024 from our estimated collection percentage as a result of a change in expected recoveries, net loss for the year ended December 31, 2024 would have changed by $38 million, and net accounts receivable at December 31, 2024 would have changed by $49 million. We also continually review our overall reserve adequacy by monitoring historical cash collections as a percentage of trailing net operating revenues, as well as by analyzing current period net operating revenues and admissions by payor classification, days revenue outstanding, the composition of self-pay receivables between pure self-pay patients and the patient responsibility portion of third-party insured receivables and the impact of recent acquisitions and dispositions.

Our policy is to write-off gross accounts receivable if the balance is under $10 or when such amounts are placed with outside collection agencies. We believe this policy accurately reflects our ongoing collection efforts and is consistent with industry practices. We had approximately $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, being pursued by various outside collection agencies. We expect to collect less than 4%, net of estimated collection fees, of the amounts being pursued by outside collection agencies. As these amounts have been written-off, they are not included in our accounts receivable. Collections on amounts previously written-off are recognized as a recovery of net operating revenues when received. However, we take into consideration estimated collections of these future amounts written-off in determining the implicit price concessions used to measure the transaction price for the applicable portfolio of patient accounts receivable.

All of the following information is derived from our hospitals, excluding clinics, unless otherwise noted.

Patient accounts receivable from our hospitals represent approximately 98% of our total consolidated accounts receivable.

Days revenue outstanding, adjusted for the impact of receivables for state Medicaid supplemental payment programs and divested facilities, was 55 days and 58 days at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

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Total gross accounts receivable (prior to allowance for contractual adjustments and implicit price concessions) was approximately $17.3 billion and $16.8 billion at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The approximate percentage of total gross accounts receivable (prior to allowance for contractual adjustments and implicit price concessions) summarized by payor and aging categories is as follows:

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["At December 31, 2024:"],["","","% of Gross Receivables"],["Payor","","0 - 90 Days","","","90 - 180 Days","","","180 - 365 Days","","","Over 365 Days"],["Medicare","","","10","%","","","\u2014","%","","","\u2014","%","","","\u2014","%"],["Medicare Managed Care","","","16","%","","","3","%","","","3","%","","","2","%"],["Medicaid","","","6","%","","","1","%","","","1","%","","","1","%"],["Managed Care and other third-party payors","","","19","%","","","3","%","","","3","%","","","3","%"],["Self-Pay","","","7","%","","","6","%","","","8","%","","","8","%"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["At December 31, 2023:"],["","","% of Gross Receivables"],["Payor","","0 - 90 Days","","","90 - 180 Days","","","180 - 365 Days","","","Over 365 Days"],["Medicare","","","10","%","","","1","%","","","1","%","","","\u2014","%"],["Medicare Managed Care","","","16","%","","","3","%","","","3","%","","","2","%"],["Medicaid","","","6","%","","","1","%","","","1","%","","","1","%"],["Managed Care and other third-party payors","","","18","%","","","3","%","","","3","%","","","3","%"],["Self-Pay","","","7","%","","","6","%","","","7","%","","","8","%"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

The approximate percentage of total gross accounts receivable (prior to allowances for contractual adjustments and implicit price concessions) summarized by payor type is as follows:

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["","","December 31,"],["","","2024","","","2023"],["Insured receivables","","","72.4","%","","","72.1","%"],["Self-pay receivables","","","27.6","","","","27.9"],["Total","","","100.0","%","","","100.0","%"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

The combined total at our hospitals and clinics for the estimated implicit price concessions for self-pay accounts receivable and allowances for other self-pay discounts and contractuals, as a percentage of gross self-pay receivables, was approximately 90% and 91% at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. If the receivables that have been written-off, but where collections are still being pursued by outside collection agencies, were included in both the allowances and gross self-pay receivables specified above, the percentage of combined allowances to total self-pay receivables would have been 93% at both December 31, 2024 and 2023.

Goodwill

At December 31, 2024, we had approximately $3.8 billion of goodwill recorded, all of which resides at our hospital operations reporting unit. Goodwill represents the excess of the fair value of the consideration conveyed in an acquisition over the fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill is evaluated for impairment annually and when an event occurs or circumstances change that, more likely than not, reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying value. We performed our last annual goodwill impairment evaluation during the fourth quarter of 2024 using the October 31, 2024 measurement date, which indicated no impairment.

The determination of fair value in our goodwill impairment analysis is based on an estimate of fair value for the hospital operations reporting unit utilizing known and estimated inputs at the evaluation date. Some of those inputs include, but are not limited to, the most recent price of our common stock and fair value of our long-term debt, our recent financial results, estimates of future revenue and expense growth, estimated market multiples, expected capital expenditures, income tax rates, costs of invested capital and a discount rate.

Future estimates of fair value could be adversely affected if the actual outcome of one or more of the assumptions described above changes materially in the future, including as a result of any decline in or increased volatility of our stock price and the fair value of our long-term debt, lower than expected hospital volumes and/or net operating revenues, higher market interest rates, increased operating costs or other adverse impacts on our financial results. Such changes impacting the calculation of our fair value could result in a material impairment charge in the future.

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Professional Liability Claims

As part of our business of providing healthcare services, we are subject to legal actions alleging liability on our part. We accrue for losses resulting from such liability claims, as well as loss adjustment expenses that are out-of-pocket and directly related to such liability claims. These direct out-of-pocket expenses include fees of outside counsel and experts. We do not accrue for costs that are part of our corporate overhead, such as the costs of our in-house legal and risk management departments. The losses resulting from professional liability claims primarily consist of estimates for known claims, as well as estimates for incurred but not reported claims. The estimates are based on specific claim facts, our historical claim reporting and payment patterns, the nature and level of our hospital operations, and actuarially determined projections. The actuarially determined projections are based on our actual claim data, including historic reporting and payment patterns. As discussed below, since we purchase excess insurance on a claims-made basis that transfers risk to third-party insurers, the estimated liability for professional and general liability claims does include an amount for the losses covered by our excess insurance. We also record a receivable for the expected reimbursement of losses covered by our excess insurance. Since we believe that the amount and timing of our future claims payments are reliably determinable, we discount the amount we accrue for losses resulting from professional liability claims.

The net present value of the projected payments was discounted using weighted-average risk free rates of 3.7% in both 2024 and 2023, and 3.8% in 2022. This liability is adjusted for new claims information in the period such information becomes known to us. Professional liability expense includes the losses resulting from professional liability claims and loss adjustment expense, as well as excess insurance premiums, and is presented within other operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of (loss) income.

Our processes for obtaining and analyzing claims and incident data are standardized across all of our businesses and have been consistent for many years. We monitor the outcomes of the medical care services that we provide and for each reported claim, we obtain various information concerning the facts and circumstances related to that claim. In addition, we routinely monitor current key statistics and volume indicators in our assessment of utilizing historical trends. The average lag period between claim occurrence and payment of a final settlement is between three and four years, although the facts and circumstances of individual claims could result in the timing of such payments being different from this average. Since claims are paid promptly after settlement with the claimant is reached, settled claims represent approximately 4% or less of the total liability at the end of any period.

For purposes of estimating our individual claim accruals, we utilize specific claim information, including the nature of the claim, the expected claim amount, the year in which the claim occurred and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the claim occurred. Once the case accruals for known claims are determined, information is stratified by loss layers and retentions, accident years, reported years and geography. Several actuarial methods are used to produce estimates of ultimate paid losses and reserves for incurred but not reported claims. Each of these methods uses our company-specific historical claims data and other information. Company-specific data includes information regarding our business, including historical paid losses and loss adjustment expenses, historical and current case loss reserves, actual and projected hospital statistical data, a variety of hospital census information, employed physician information, professional liability retentions for each policy year, geographic information and other data. Significant assumptions are made on the basis of the aforementioned information in estimating reserves for incurred but not reported claims. A 1% change in assumptions for either severity or frequency at December 31, 2024 would have increased or decreased the reserve by approximately $5 million to $10 million.

Based on these analyses, we periodically review and determine our estimate of the professional liability claims. The determination of management’s estimate, including the preparation of the reserve analysis that supports such estimate, involves subjective judgment of management. Changes in reserve data or the trends and factors that influence reserve data may signal fundamental shifts in our future claim development patterns or may simply reflect single-period anomalies. Even if a change reflects a fundamental shift, the full extent of the change may not become evident until years later. Moreover, since our methods and models use different types of data and we select our liability from the results of all of these methods, we typically cannot quantify the precise impact of such factors on our estimates of the liability. Due to our standardized and consistent processes for handling claims and the long history and depth of our company-specific data, our methodologies have historically produced reliably determinable estimates of ultimate paid losses. Management considers any changes in the amount and pattern of its historical paid losses up through the most recent reporting period to identify any fundamental shifts or trends in claim development experience in determining the estimate of professional liability claims. However, due to the subjective nature of this estimate and the impact that previously unforeseen shifts in actual claim experience can have, future estimates of professional liability could be adversely impacted when actual paid losses develop unexpectedly based on assumptions and settlement events that were not previously known or anticipated.

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[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

(1)
The liability for insured claims is recorded in the consolidated balance sheets with a corresponding insurance recovery receivable.

(2)
Total expense, including premiums for insured coverage, was $372 million in 2024, $208 million in 2023 and $132 million in 2022.

In the ordinary course of business, our expense with respect to professional liability claims, which is actuarially determined, is limited to amounts not covered by third-party insurance policies, which typically provide coverage for professional liability claims. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we experienced an increase in the amounts paid or expected to be paid to settle outstanding professional liability claims related to divested locations, compared to the same period in the prior year and to previous actuarially determined estimates. This resulted in a change in estimate of $15 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we experienced an increase in the amounts paid or expected to be paid to settle outstanding professional liability claims, compared to the same period in the prior year and to previous actuarially determined estimates due to adverse claim developments. During the year ended December 31, 2024, in connection with our periodic review of the professional liability claims accrual, we, with input from our third-party actuary, considered recent increases in the amounts paid to resolve outstanding professional liability claims arising in prior periods as well as recent increases in individual claim accruals for unresolved prior period claims. The emergence in the period of adverse developments, including from social inflationary pressures, impacted the actuarially determined estimate for the resolution of professional liability claims and resulted in an upward revision to the professional liability claims accrual estimate in the amount of $149 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, the majority of which increase in estimate related to divested locations. There were no other significant changes in our estimate of the reserve for professional liability claims during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022.

We are primarily self-insured for professional liability claims; however, we obtain excess insurance that transfers the risk of loss to a third-party insurer for claims in excess of our self-insured retentions. Our excess insurance is underwritten on a claims-made basis. For claims reported prior to June 1, 2002, substantially all of our professional and general liability risks were subject to a less than $1 million per occurrence self-insured retention and for claims reported from June 1, 2002 through June 1, 2003, these self-insured retentions were $2 million per occurrence. Substantially all claims reported after June 1, 2003 and before June 1, 2005 are self-insured up to $4 million per claim. Substantially all claims reported on or after June 1, 2005 and before June 1, 2014 are self-insured up to $5 million per claim. Substantially all claims reported on or after June 1, 2014 and before June 1, 2018 are self-insured up to $10 million per claim. Substantially all claims reported on or after June 1, 2018 are self-insured up to $15 million per claim. Management, on occasion, has selectively increased the insured risk at certain hospitals based upon insurance pricing and other factors and may continue that practice in the future.

Excess insurance for all hospitals has been purchased through commercial insurance companies and generally covers us for liabilities in excess of the self-insured retentions. The excess coverage consists of multiple layers of insurance, the sum of which totals up to $95 million per occurrence and in the aggregate for claims reported on or after June 1, 2003, up to $145 million per occurrence and in the aggregate for claims reported on or after January 1, 2008, up to $195 million per occurrence and in the aggregate for claims reported on or after June 1, 2010, and up to at least $215 million per occurrence and in the aggregate for claims reported on or after June 1, 2015. In addition, for integrated occurrence professional liability claims, there is an additional $50 million of excess coverage for claims reported on or after June 1, 2014 and an additional $75 million of excess coverage for claims reported on or after June 1, 2015 through June 1, 2020. The $75 million in integrated occurrence coverage will also apply to claims reported between June 1, 2020 and June 1, 2025 for events that occurred prior to June 1, 2020 but which were not previously known or reported. For certain policy years prior to June 1, 2014, if the first aggregate layer of excess coverage becomes fully utilized, then the self-insured retention will

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increase to $10 million per claim for any subsequent claims in that policy year until our total aggregate coverage is met. Beginning June 1, 2018, this drop-down provision in the excess policies attaches over the $15 million per claim self-insured retention.

Income Taxes

We must make estimates in recording provision for income taxes, including determination of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities and any valuation allowances that might be required against the deferred tax assets. We believe that future income will enable us to realize certain deferred tax assets, subject to the valuation allowance we have established.

The total amount of unrecognized benefit that would impact the effective tax rate, if recognized, was $42 million at December 31, 2024. A total of $5 million of interest and penalties is included in the amount of liability for uncertain tax positions at December 31, 2024. It is our policy to recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized benefits in our consolidated statements of (loss) income as income tax expense.

It is possible the amount of unrecognized tax benefit could change in the next 12 months as a result of a lapse of the statute of limitations and settlements with taxing authorities; however, we do not anticipate the change will have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or consolidated financial position.

Our income tax return for the 2018 tax year has been effectively settled with the Internal Revenue Service in 2024. The settlement was not material to our consolidated results of operations or consolidated financial position. Our income tax return for the 2021 and 2022 tax years are under examination by the Internal Revenue Service. We believe the result of this examination will not be material to our consolidated results of operations or consolidated financial position.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740), Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures.” This ASU establishes new requirements for the categorization and disaggregation of information in the rate reconciliation as well as for disaggregation of income taxes paid. Additionally, this ASU modifies and eliminates certain existing requirements for indefinitely reinvested foreign earnings and unrecognized tax benefits. This ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2025. The amendments in this ASU should be applied on a prospective basis and early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact that adoption of this ASU will have on our consolidated financial statements.

We have evaluated all other recently issued, but not yet effective, ASUs and do not expect the eventual adoption of such ASUs to have a material impact on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risk and uncertainties. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “thinks,” and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results and performance to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. A number of factors could affect the future results of the Company or the healthcare industry generally and could cause the Company’s expected results to differ materially from those expressed in this Form 10-K. These factors include, among other things:

•
general economic and business conditions, both nationally and in the regions in which we operate, including the impact in recent periods of challenging macroeconomic conditions and inflationary pressures, the current high interest rate environment, and current geopolitical instability, as well as the potential impact on us of political, financial, credit and capital conditions;

•
the impact of current and future healthcare public policy developments and possible changes to federal, state or local laws, regulations and policies affecting the healthcare industry, including changes affecting the structure of or funding for the Medicare and Medicaid programs;

•
changes by the federal and state governments to state Medicaid programs, including the extent and nature of structural and funding changes and manner in which any such changes are implemented, and other developments that affect the administration of health insurance exchanges or alter or reduce the provision of, or payment for, healthcare to state residents through legislation, regulation or otherwise;

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•
changes related to health insurance enrollment, including those affecting the beneficiary enrollment process and the stability of health insurance exchanges, and the expiration of the temporarily enhanced subsidies available for individuals to purchase coverage through Affordable Care Act marketplaces;

•
risks associated with our substantial indebtedness, leverage and debt service obligations, including our ability to refinance such indebtedness on acceptable terms or to incur additional indebtedness, and our ability to remain in compliance with debt covenants;

•
demographic changes;

•
changes in, or the failure to comply with, federal, state or local laws or governmental regulations affecting our business;

•
judicial developments impacting the Company or the healthcare industry, including the potential impact of the recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the actions of federal agencies;

•
potential adverse impact of known and unknown legal, regulatory and governmental proceedings and other loss contingencies, including governmental investigations and audits, and federal and state false claims act litigation;

•
our ability to enter into and maintain provider arrangements with payors and the terms of these arrangements, which may be further affected by the increasing consolidation of health insurers and managed care companies and vertical integration efforts involving payors and healthcare providers;

•
changes in, or the failure to comply with, contract terms with payors and changes in reimbursement policies, methodologies or rates paid by federal or state healthcare programs or commercial payors;

•
security breaches, cyber-attacks, loss of data, other cybersecurity threats or incidents, including those experienced with respect to our information systems or the information systems of third parties with whom we conduct business, and any actual or perceived failures to comply with legal requirements governing the privacy and security of health information or other regulated, sensitive or confidential information, or legal requirements regarding data privacy or data protection;

•
the development, adoption and use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning;

•
any potential impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets, or other long-lived assets, or changes in the useful lives of other intangible assets;

•
the effects related to the sequestration spending reductions pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the potential for future deficit reduction legislation;

•
increases in the amount and risk of collectability of patient accounts receivable, including decreases in collectability which may result from, among other things, self-pay growth and difficulties in recovering payments for which patients are responsible, including co-pays and deductibles;

•
the efforts of insurers, healthcare providers, large employer groups and others to contain healthcare costs, including the trend toward value-based purchasing and increased reimbursement denials by insurers;

•
the impact of competitive labor market conditions, including in connection with our ability to hire and retain qualified nurses, physicians, other medical personnel and key management, and increased labor expenses arising from inflation and/or competition for such positions;

•
the inability of third parties with whom we contract to provide hospital-based physicians and the effectiveness of our efforts to mitigate such non-performance including through acquisitions of outsourced medical specialist businesses, engagement with new or replacement providers, employment of physicians and re-negotiation or assumption of existing contracts;

•
any failure to obtain medical supplies or pharmaceuticals at favorable prices;

•
liabilities and other claims asserted against us, including self-insured professional liability claims;

•
competition;

•
trends toward treatment of patients in less acute or specialty healthcare settings, including ambulatory surgery centers or specialty hospitals or via telehealth;

•
changes in medical or other technology;

•
any failure of key business functions, including our ability to realize the intended benefits of a new core enterprise resource planning system and the redesigned and consolidated processes which are supported by such system;

•
changes in U.S. GAAP;

•
the availability and terms of capital to fund any additional acquisitions or replacement facilities or other capital expenditures;

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•
our ability to successfully make acquisitions or complete divestitures, our ability to complete any such acquisitions or divestitures on desired terms or at all, the timing of the completion of any such acquisitions or divestitures, and our ability to realize the intended benefits from any such acquisitions or divestitures;

•
the impact that changes in our relationships with joint venture or syndication partners could have on effectively operating our hospitals or ancillary services or in advancing strategic opportunities;

•
our ability to successfully integrate any acquired hospitals and/or outpatient facilities, or to realize expected benefits from acquisitions such as increased growth in patient service revenues;

•
the impact of severe weather conditions and climate change, as well as the timing and amount of insurance recoveries in relation to severe weather events;

•
our ability to obtain adequate levels of insurance, including general liability, professional liability, cyber liability and directors’ and officers’ liability insurance;

•
timeliness of reimbursement payments received under government programs;

•
effects related to pandemics, epidemics, outbreaks of infectious diseases or other public health crises;

•
any failure to comply with our obligations under license or technology agreements;

•
challenging economic conditions in non-urban communities in which we operate;

•
the concentration of our revenue in a small number of states;

•
our ability to realize anticipated cost savings and other benefits from our current strategic and operational cost savings initiatives;

•
any changes in or interpretations of income tax laws and regulations; and

•
the risk factors set forth in this Form 10-K and our other public filings with the SEC.

Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant regulatory, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and may be beyond our control. Accordingly, we cannot give any assurance that our expectations will in fact occur, and we caution that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this filing. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.