Basis of Presentation - USD ($)
$ in Millions

3 Months Ended

6 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2016

Sep. 30, 2015

Jun. 30, 2015

Jun. 30, 2016

Jun. 30, 2015

Dec. 31, 2015

Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Pension termination charges

$ 0

$ 36

$ 0

$ 0

$ 8

$ 44

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Boston Scientific Corporation have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP) and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in Item 8 of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Subsequent Events

We evaluate events occurring after the date of our most recent accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets for potential recognition or disclosure in our financial statements. We did not identify any material subsequent events requiring adjustment to our accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements (recognized subsequent events) for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016. Those items requiring disclosure (unrecognized subsequent events) in the financial statements have been disclosed accordingly. Refer to Note B - Acquisitions and Strategic Investments, Note H - Income Taxes and Note I - Commitments and Contingencies for more information.

Pension Termination Charges

Following our 2006 acquisition of Guidant Corporation, we sponsored the Guidant Retirement Plan, a frozen noncontributory defined benefit plan covering a select group of current and former employees. The plan was partially frozen as of September 25, 1995 and completely frozen as of May 31, 2007. The plan was subsequently terminated effective December 1, 2014. During 2015, we finalized the termination process and settled the plan’s obligations, and as a result, we recorded pension termination charges of $8 million during the first half of2015 and an additional $36 million during the third quarter of 2015 for a total of $44 million of pension termination charges in the year ended December 31, 2015. We do not expect to record any additional pension termination charges in 2016 related to the termination of the Guidant Retirement Plan.