Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

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, 2016, 2015 and 2014:

	(dollar amounts in thousands)
	2016					2015					2014
	Amount		%			Amount		%			Amount		%
Charity care	$	733,585		50	%	$	506,571		42	%	$	515,435		45	%
Uninsured discounts		720,205		50	%		696,463		58	%		620,587		55	%
Total uncompensated care	$	1,453,790		100	%	$	1,203,034		100	%	$	1,136,022		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)
	2016		2015		2014
Estimated cost of providing charity care	$	107,887	$	77,557	$	78,475
Estimated cost of providing uninsured discounts related care		105,920		106,630		94,484
Estimated cost of providing uncompensated care	$	213,807	$	184,187	$	172,959

Summary of Changes in Carrying Amount of Goodwill

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the two years ended December 31, 2016 were as follows (in thousands):

	Acute Care Services			Behavioral Health Services			Total Consolidated
Balance, January 1, 2015	$	387,099		$	2,904,114		$	3,291,213
Goodwill acquired during the period		2,480			316,427			318,907
Goodwill divested during the period		0			(1,497	)		(1,497	)
Adjustments to goodwill (a)		(72	)		(12,437	)		(12,509	)
Balance, December 31, 2015		389,507			3,206,607			3,596,114
Goodwill acquired during the period		50,897			183,761			234,658
Adjustments to goodwill (a)		(110	)		(46,556	)		(46,666	)
Balance, December 31, 2016	$	440,294		$	3,343,812		$	3,784,106

Amounts Recognized in AOCI

The amounts recognized in AOCI for the two years ended December 31, 2016 were as follows (in thousands):

	Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Effective Cash Flow Hedges			Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment			Unrealized loss on marketable security			Minimum Pension Liability			Total AOCI
Balance, January 1, 2015, net of income tax	$	(3,247	)	$	(2,431	)	$	—		$	(19,554	)	$	(25,232	)
2015 activity:
Pretax amount		4,634			(1,728	)		—			2,177			5,083
Income tax effect		(2,163	)		—			—			(817	)		(2,980	)
Change, net of income tax		2,471			(1,728	)		—			1,360			2,103
Balance, January 1, 2016, net of income tax		(776	)		(4,159	)		—			(18,194	)		(23,129	)
2016 activity:
Pretax amount		1,271			(10,038	)		(2,229	)		13,356			2,360
Income tax effect		(476	)		—			831			(5,003	)		(4,648	)
Change, net of income tax		795			(10,038	)		(1,398	)		8,353			(2,288	)
Balance, December 31, 2016, net of income tax	$	19		$	(14,197	)	$	(1,398	)	$	(9,841	)	$	(25,417	)

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,
	2016			2015			2014
Basic and diluted:
Net Income	$	747,171		$	750,698		$	604,996
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest		(44,762	)		(70,170	)		(59,653	)
Less: Net income attributable to unvested restricted share grants		(314	)		(281	)		(236	)
Net income attributable to UHS—basic and diluted	$	702,095		$	680,247		$	545,107
Basic earnings per share attributable to UHS:
Weighted average number of common shares—basic		97,208			98,797			98,826
Total basic earnings per share	$	7.22		$	6.89		$	5.52
Diluted earnings per share attributable to UHS:
Weighted average number of common shares		97,208			98,797			98,826
Net effect of dilutive stock options and grants based on the treasury stock method		1,172			1,897			1,718
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents—diluted		98,380			100,694			100,544
Total diluted earnings per share	$	7.14		$	6.76		$	5.42