CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 158,280	$ 295,586
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $238,865 and $235,747 at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively	920,833	867,010
Inventories	85,187	93,050
Deferred income taxes	152,831	174,209
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	108,517	90,950
Current assets held for sale	0	40,192
Total current assets	1,425,648	1,560,997
Property, plant and equipment, net	749,355	755,831
Goodwill	5,628,808	5,535,848
Intangible assets, net	903,899	872,172
Other assets	219,829	204,631
Non-current assets held for sale	0	354,384
Total assets	8,927,539	9,283,863
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	994,292	1,016,191
Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt	244,703	9,404
Current liabilities held for sale	0	22,008
Total current liabilities	1,238,995	1,047,603
Long-term debt	3,122,208	3,354,173
Other liabilities	694,741	635,558
Non-current liabilities held for sale	0	60,800
Quest Diagnostics stockholders’ equity:
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share; 600,000 shares authorized at both September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012; 215,364 shares and 215,075 shares issued at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively	2,154	2,151
Additional paid-in capital	2,306,433	2,370,677
Retained earnings	5,259,665	4,690,378
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income	(7,988)	14,320
Treasury stock, at cost; 69,972 shares and 56,744 shares at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively	(3,717,583)	(2,914,479)
Total Quest Diagnostics stockholders' equity	3,842,681	4,163,047
Noncontrolling interests	28,914	22,682
Total stockholders' equity	3,871,595	4,185,729
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 8,927,539	$ 9,283,863