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Uncompensated Care (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2015 | Dec. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013
Health Care Trust Fund [Line Items] |  |  |
Uncompensated care | $ 1,203,034 | $ 1,136,022 | $ 998,770
Uncompensated care, percentage | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00%
Charity Care |  |  |
Health Care Trust Fund [Line Items] |  |  |
Uncompensated care | $ 506,571 | $ 515,435 | $ 593,474
Uncompensated care, percentage | 42.00% | 45.00% | 59.00%
Uninsured Discounts |  |  |
Health Care Trust Fund [Line Items] |  |  |
Uncompensated care | $ 696,463 | $ 620,587 | $ 405,296
Uncompensated care, percentage | 58.00% | 55.00% | 41.00%

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- Definition Percentage of Uncompensated Care + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | uhs_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

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- Definition Uncompensated Care + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | uhs_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

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- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

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- Details
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Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

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- Details
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Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |