NOTE 4. IMPAIRMENT AND RESTRUCTURING CHARGES, AND ACQUISITION-RELATED COSTS

During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $81 million primarily related to our Hospital Operations and other segment, consisting of approximately $2 million to write-down other intangible assets, $26 million of employee severance costs, $9 million of restructuring costs, $4 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $40 million in acquisition-related costs, which include $5 million of transaction costs and $35 million of acquisition integration charges.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $266 million, consisting of a $147 million charge to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, as a result of us entering into a definitive agreement for the sale of Saint Louis University Hospital in the period, $16 million of employee severance costs, $5 million of restructuring costs, $15 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $83 million in acquisition-related costs, which include $48 million of transaction costs and $35 million of acquisition integration charges.

Our impairment tests presume stable, improving or, in some cases, declining operating results in our facilities, which are based on programs and initiatives being implemented that are designed to achieve the facility’s most recent projections. If these projections are not met, or if in the future negative trends occur that impact our future outlook, impairments of long-lived assets and goodwill may occur, and we may incur additional restructuring charges, which could be material.

At September 30, 2016, our continuing operations consisted of three reportable segments, Hospital Operations and other, Ambulatory Care and Conifer. Within our Hospital Operations and other segment, our regions and markets are reporting units used to perform our goodwill impairment analysis and are one level below our reportable business segment level. Our Ambulatory Care segment consists of the operations of our USPI joint venture and our Aspen facilities.

Our Hospital Operations and other segment was structured as follows at September 30, 2016:

Our Florida region included all of our hospitals and other operations in Florida;

Our Northeast region included all of our hospitals and other operations in Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania;

Our Southern region included all of our hospitals and other operations in Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee;

Our Texas region included all of our hospitals and other operations in New Mexico and Texas;

Our Western region included all of our hospitals and other operations in Arizona and California; and

Our Detroit market included all of our hospitals and other operations in the Detroit, Michigan area.

We periodically incur costs to implement restructuring efforts for specific operations, which are recorded in our statement of operations as they are incurred. Our restructuring plans focus on various aspects of operations, including aligning our operations in the most strategic and cost-effective structure. Certain restructuring and acquisition-related costs are based on estimates. Changes in estimates are recognized as they occur.