Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Uncompensated Care

The following table shows the amounts recorded at our acute care hospitals for charity care and uninsured discounts, based on charges at established rates, for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012:

	(dollar amounts in thousands)
	2014					2013					2012
	Amount		%			Amount		%			Amount		%
Charity care	$	515,435		45	%	$	593,474		59	%	$	778,268		74	%
Uninsured discounts		620,587		55	%		405,296		41	%		267,304		26	%
Total uncompensated care	$	1,136,022		100	%	$	998,770		100	%	$	1,045,572		100	%

Estimated Cost of Providing Uncompensated Care

The estimated cost of providing uncompensated care, as reflected below, were based on a calculation which multiplied the percentage of operating expenses for our acute care hospitals to gross charges for those hospitals by the above-mentioned total uncompensated care amounts. The percentage of cost to gross charges is calculated based on the total operating expenses for our acute care facilities divided by gross patient service revenue for those facilities. An increase in the level of uninsured patients to our facilities and the resulting adverse trends in the provision for doubtful accounts and uncompensated care provided could have a material unfavorable impact on our future operating results.

	(amounts in thousands)
	2014		2013		2012
Estimated cost of providing charity care	$	78,475	$	95,675	$	131,890
Estimated cost of providing uninsured discounts related care		94,484		65,338		45,299
Estimated cost of providing uncompensated care	$	172,959	$	161,013	$	177,189

Changes in Carrying Amount of Goodwill

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the two years ended December 31, 2014 were as follows (in thousands):

	Acute Care Services		Behavioral Health Services			Total Consolidated
Balance, January 1, 2013	$	382,696	$	2,654,069		$	3,036,765
Adjustments to goodwill (a)		315		11,936			12,251
Balance, December 31, 2013		383,011		2,666,005			3,049,016
Goodwill acquired during the period		4,088		246,124			250,212
Adjustments to goodwill (b)		0		(8,015	)		(8,015	)
Balance, December 31, 2014	$	387,099	$	2,904,114		$	3,291,213

(a) The increase in the Behavioral Health Services’ goodwill consists primarily of an amount that was reclassified from other assets.

(b) The decrease in the Behavioral Health Services’ goodwill consists primarily of foreign currency translation adjustments.

Amounts Recognized in AOCI

The amounts recognized in AOCI for the two years ended December 31, 2014 were as follows (in thousands):

	Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Effective Cash Flow Hedges			Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment			Minimum Pension Liability			Total AOCI
Balance, January 1, 2013, net of income tax	$	(24,527	)	$	0		$	(19,627	)	$	(44,154	)
2013 activity:
Pretax amount		16,627			0			14,657			31,284
Income tax effect		(6,270	)		0			(5,670	)		(11,940	)
Change, net of income tax		10,357			0			8,987			19,344
Balance, January 1, 2014, net of income tax		(14,170	)		0			(10,640	)		(24,810	)
2014 activity:
Pretax amount		17,332			(2,431	)		(14,270	)		631
Income tax effect		(6,409	)		0			5,356			(1,053	)
Change, net of income tax		10,923			(2,431	)		(8,914	)		(422	)
Balance, December 31, 2014, net of income tax	$	(3,247	)	$	(2,431	)	$	(19,554	)	$	(25,232	)

Computation of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share, for the periods indicated:

	Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
Basic and diluted:
Net Income	$	604,996		$	554,023		$	489,047
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest		(59,653	)		(43,290	)		(45,601	)
Less: Net income attributable to unvested restricted share grants		(236	)		(294	)		(497	)
Net income attributable to UHS—basic and diluted	$	545,107		$	510,439		$	442,949
Basic earnings per share attributable to UHS:
Weighted average number of common shares—basic		98,826			98,033			96,821
Total basic earnings per share	$	5.52		$	5.21		$	4.57
Diluted earnings per share attributable to UHS:
Weighted average number of common shares		98,826			98,033			96,821
Net effect of dilutive stock options and grants based on the treasury stock method		1,718			1,328			890
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents—diluted		100,544			99,361			97,711
Total diluted earnings per share	$	5.42		$	5.14		$	4.53