Here are 13 of the largest for-profit hospital systems in the U.S., based on number of children's, critcal access and short-term acute care hospitals.
The list is based on data from the American Hospital Directory, which contains information from hospital cost reports submitted to CMS. Data was accessed Feb. 15, 2017. Hospital cost reports are submitted to fiscal intermediaries about three months after the end of a hospital's fiscal year, and the most common fiscal year ending dates are Dec. 31, June 30 and Sept. 30.
Systems are listed in descending order based on the number of acute care hospitals. The system rankings total 13, although the list includes a tie.
1. Hospital Corporation of America (Nashville, Tenn.) — 173
2. Community Health Systems (Franklin, Tenn.) — 154
3. Tenet Healthcare (Dallas) — 64
3. LifePoint Health (Brentwood, Tenn.) — 64
*Figure includes acute care facilities within Brentwood, Tenn.-based Duke LifePoint Healthcare
4. Prime Healthcare Services (Ontario, Calif.) — 42
5. Universal Health Services (King of Prussia, Pa.) — 32
6. IASIS Healthcare (Franklin, Tenn.) — 19
7. RCCH HealthCare Partners (Brentwood, Tenn.) — 17
8. Ardent Health Services (Nashville, Tenn.) — 12
9. Steward Health Care System (Boston) — 9
10. National Surgical Hospitals (Chicago) — 8
11. AHMC Healthcare (Alhambra, Calif.) — 6
12. Cancer Treatment Centers of America (Boca Raton, Fla.) — 5