UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
 
Form 10-Q
 
Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the quarterly period ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019
 
OR
Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the transition period from               to               
 
Commission File Number 1-7293
 

 
TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATIONCORPORATION
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
 


Nevada
95-2557091
(State of Incorporation)
95-2557091
(IRS Employer Identification No.)

1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1400
Dallas, TX75202
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
 
(469) (469893-2200
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each classTrading symbolName of each exchange on which registered
Common stock$0.05 par valueTHCNew York Stock Exchange
6.875% Senior Notes due 2031THC31New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months, and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.   Yes x No ¨
 
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months.   Yes x No ¨
 
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company (each as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2).
Large accelerated filer
xAccelerated filer¨Non-accelerated filer
Accelerated filer ¨
Non-accelerated filer ¨
   
Smaller reporting company¨
 
Emerging growth company¨

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
 
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2).   Yes ¨ No x

At OctoberJuly 31, 2018,2019, there were 102,498,300103,448,475 shares of the Registrant’s common stock $0.05 par value, outstanding.
 

TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Page
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
   
   
  
 
   
   
   
   

i

Table of Contents

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
Dollars in Millions
(Unaudited)
 September 30, December 31, June 30, December 31,
 2018 2017 2019 2018
ASSETS        
Current assets:        
Cash and cash equivalents $500
 $611
 $249
 $411
Accounts receivable (less allowance for doubtful accounts of $898 at December 31, 2017) 2,484
 2,616
Accounts receivable 2,734
 2,595
Inventories of supplies, at cost 307
 289
 309
 305
Income tax receivable 27
 5
 19
 21
Assets held for sale 128
 1,017
 
 107
Other current assets 1,046
 1,035
 1,393
 1,197
Total current assets
 4,492
 5,573
 4,704
 4,636
Investments and other assets 1,462
 1,543
 2,297
 1,456
Deferred income taxes 348
 455
 268
 312
Property and equipment, at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization
($5,169 at September 30, 2018 and $4,739 at December 31, 2017)
 6,888
 7,030
Property and equipment, at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization
($5,526 at June 30, 2019 and $5,221 at December 31, 2018)
 6,995
 6,993
Goodwill 7,313
 7,018
 7,298
 7,281
Other intangible assets, at cost, less accumulated amortization
($990 at September 30, 2018 and $883 at December 31, 2017)
 1,762
 1,766
Other intangible assets, at cost, less accumulated amortization
($1,051 at June 30, 2019 and $1,013 at December 31, 2018)
 1,645
 1,731
Total assets
 $22,265
 $23,385
 $23,207
 $22,409
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY        
Current liabilities:        
Current portion of long-term debt $672
 $146
 $664
 $182
Accounts payable 1,065
 1,175
 1,088
 1,207
Accrued compensation and benefits 814
 848
 720
 838
Professional and general liability reserves 230
 200
 228
 216
Accrued interest payable 330
 256
 233
 240
Liabilities held for sale 71
 480
 
 43
Other current liabilities 1,042
 1,227
 1,217
 1,131
Total current liabilities
 4,224
 4,332
 4,150
 3,857
Long-term debt, net of current portion 14,178
 14,791
 14,312
 14,644
Professional and general liability reserves 627
 654
 669
 666
Defined benefit plan obligations 476
 536
 507
 521
Deferred income taxes 36
 36
 36
 36
Other long-term liabilities 622
 631
 1,354
 578
Total liabilities
 20,163
 20,980
 21,028
 20,302
Commitments and contingencies 


 


 


 


Redeemable noncontrolling interests in equity of consolidated subsidiaries 1,444
 1,866
 1,462
 1,420
Equity:        
Shareholders’ equity:        
Common stock, $0.05 par value; authorized 262,500,000 shares; 150,806,763 shares issued at
September 30, 2018 and 149,384,952 shares issued at December 31, 2017
 7
 7
Common stock, $0.05 par value; authorized 262,500,000 shares; 151,684,478 shares issued at
June 30, 2019 and 150,897,143 shares issued at December 31, 2018
 7
 7
Additional paid-in capital 4,733
 4,859
 4,755
 4,747
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (202) (204) (219) (223)
Accumulated deficit (2,231) (2,390) (2,237) (2,236)
Common stock in treasury, at cost, 48,360,191 shares at September 30, 2018
and 48,413,169 shares at December 31, 2017
 (2,415) (2,419)
Common stock in treasury, at cost, 48,348,348 shares at June 30, 2019
and 48,359,705 shares at December 31, 2018
 (2,414) (2,414)
Total shareholders’ deficit (108) (147) (108) (119)
Noncontrolling interests
 766
 686
 825
 806
Total equity
 658
 539
 717
 687
Total liabilities and equity
 $22,265
 $23,385
 $23,207
 $22,409

See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Dollars in Millions, Except Per-Share Amounts
(Unaudited) 
 Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net operating revenues:        
Net operating revenues before provision for doubtful accounts 

 $4,941
 

 $15,310
Less: Provision for doubtful accounts 

 355
 

 1,109
Net operating revenues
 $4,489
 4,586
 $13,694
 14,201
 $4,560
 $4,506
 $9,105
 $9,205
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates 33
 38
 97
 95
 42
 39
 76
 64
Operating expenses:                
Salaries, wages and benefits 2,116
 2,264
 6,478
 6,990
 2,148
 2,135
 4,301
 4,362
Supplies 726
 740
 2,248
 2,285
 753
 748
 1,494
 1,522
Other operating expenses, net 1,094
 1,120
 3,181
 3,466
 1,044
 1,027
 2,118
 2,087
Electronic health record incentives 
 (1) (1) (8) 
 
 (1) (1)
Depreciation and amortization 204
 219
 602
 662
 214
 194
 422
 398
Impairment and restructuring charges, and acquisition-related costs 46
 329
 123
 403
 36
 30
 55
 77
Litigation and investigation costs 9
 6
 28
 12
 18
 13
 31
 19
Net losses (gains) on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities 7
 (104) (111) (142) 1
 (8) 2
 (118)
Operating income
 320
 51
 1,243
 628
 388
 406
 759
 923
Interest expense (249) (257) (758) (775) (247) (254) (498) (509)
Other non-operating expense, net 
 (4) (2) (14) (1) (1) 
 (2)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt 
 (138) (2) (164) 
 (1) (47) (2)
Income (loss) from continuing operations, before income taxes
 71
 (348) 481
 (325)
Income tax benefit (expense) (6) 60
 (120) 105
Income (loss) from continuing operations, before discontinued operations
 65
 (288) 361
 (220)
Income from continuing operations, before income taxes
 140
 150
 214
 410
Income tax expense (30) (44) (47) (114)
Income from continuing operations, before discontinued operations
 110
 106
 167
 296
Discontinued operations:                
Income (loss) from operations 
 (1) 3
 (1)
Income from operations 2
 2
 12
 3
Income tax expense 
 
 
 
 
 
 (2) 
Income (loss) from discontinued operations
 
 (1) 3
 (1)
Net income (loss) 65
 (289) 364
 (221)
Income from discontinued operations
 2
 2
 10
 3
Net income 112
 108
 177
 299
Less: Net income available to noncontrolling interests 74
 78
 248
 254
 95
 82
 179
 174
Net income available (loss attributable) to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
 $(9) $(367) $116
 $(475) $17
 $26
 $(2) $125
Amounts available (attributable) to Tenet Healthcare Corporation
common shareholders
                
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax $(9) $(366) $113
 $(474) $15
 $24
 $(12) $122
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax 
 (1) 3
 (1)
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax 2
 2
 10
 3
Net income available (loss attributable) to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
 $(9) $(367) $116
 $(475) $17
 $26
 $(2) $125
Earnings (loss) per share available (attributable) to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders:                
Basic                
Continuing operations $(0.09) $(3.63) $1.11
 $(4.72) $0.15
 $0.23
 $(0.12) $1.20
Discontinued operations 
 (0.01) 0.03
 (0.01) 0.02
 0.02
 0.10
 0.03
 $(0.09) $(3.64) $1.14
 $(4.73) $0.17
 $0.25
 $(0.02) $1.23
Diluted                
Continuing operations $(0.09) $(3.63) $1.09
 $(4.72) $0.14
 $0.23
 $(0.12) $1.18
Discontinued operations 
 (0.01) 0.03
 (0.01) 0.02
 0.02
 0.10
 0.03
 $(0.09) $(3.64) $1.12
 $(4.73) $0.16
 $0.25
 $(0.02) $1.21
Weighted average shares and dilutive securities outstanding (in thousands):                
Basic 102,402
 100,812
 101,980
 100,475
 103,198
 102,147
 102,993
 101,770
Diluted 102,402
 100,812
 103,802
 100,475
 104,629
 104,177
 102,993
 103,416

See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.


TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Dollars in Millions
(Unaudited)
 
  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2018 2017 2018 2017
Net income (loss) $65
 $(289) $364
 $(221)
Other comprehensive income:        
Amortization of net actuarial loss included in other non-operating expense, net 3
 4
 11
 12
Unrealized gains on securities held as available-for-sale 
 2
 
 5
Sale of foreign subsidiary 37
 
 37
 
Foreign currency translation adjustments 
 5
 (3) 14
Other comprehensive income before income taxes 40
 11
 45
 31
Income tax benefit (expense) related to items of other comprehensive income 1
 (7) 
 (11)
Total other comprehensive income, net of tax 41
 4
 45
 20
Comprehensive net income (loss) 106
 (285) 409
 (201)
Less: Comprehensive income available to noncontrolling interests  74
 78
 248
 254
Comprehensive income available (loss attributable) to
Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
 
 $32
 $(363) $161
 $(455)
  Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
  2019 2018 2019 2018
Net income $112
 $108
 $177
 $299
Other comprehensive income:        
Amortization of net actuarial loss included in other non-operating expense, net 3
 4
 6
 8
Foreign currency translation adjustments 
 (9) 
 (3)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before income taxes 3
 (5) 6
 5
Income tax benefit (expense) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss) (1) 1
 (2) (1)
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax 2
 (4) 4
 4
Comprehensive net income 114
 104
 181
 303
Less: Comprehensive income available to noncontrolling interests  95
 82
 179
 174
Comprehensive income available to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders  $19
 $22
 $2
 $129

See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.


TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Dollars in Millions
(Unaudited)
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2019 2018
Net income (loss) $364
 $(221)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:    
Net income $177
 $299
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:    
Depreciation and amortization 602
 662
 422
 398
Provision for doubtful accounts 
 1,109
Deferred income tax expense (benefit) 110
 (145)
Deferred income tax expense 42
 108
Stock-based compensation expense 34
 44
 23
 20
Impairment and restructuring charges, and acquisition-related costs 123
 403
 55
 77
Litigation and investigation costs 28
 12
 31
 19
Net gains on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities (111) (142)
Net losses (gains) on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities 2
 (118)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt 2
 164
 47
 2
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, net of distributions received 9
 (4) (2) 10
Amortization of debt discount and debt issuance costs 33
 33
 21
 22
Pre-tax loss (income) from discontinued operations (3) 1
Pre-tax income from discontinued operations (12) (3)
Other items, net (22) (19) (10) (1)
Changes in cash from operating assets and liabilities:  
  
  
  
Accounts receivable (36) (1,046) (138) (13)
Inventories and other current assets 73
 97
 (64) 144
Income taxes (14) (14) (2) (18)
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities (194) (141) (217) (371)
Other long-term liabilities (82) 7
 4
 (48)
Payments for restructuring charges, acquisition-related costs, and litigation costs and settlements
 (113) (88) (80) (63)
Net cash used in operating activities from discontinued operations, excluding income taxes (4) (3) (5) (3)
Net cash provided by operating activities
 799
 709
 294
 461
Cash flows from investing activities:  
  
  
  
Purchases of property and equipment — continuing operations (404) (492) (336) (268)
Purchases of businesses or joint venture interests, net of cash acquired (97) (41) (13) (89)
Proceeds from sales of facilities and other assets 498
 826
Proceeds from sales of facilities and other assets — continuing operations 40
 481
Proceeds from sales of facilities and other assets — discontinued operations 17
 
Proceeds from sales of marketable securities, long-term investments and other assets 165
 20
 9
 143
Purchases of equity investments (43) (64) (9) (37)
Other long-term assets 5
 (16) (4) 3
Other items, net (4) (6) (7) (8)
Net cash provided by investing activities 120
 227
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (303) 225
Cash flows from financing activities:  
  
  
  
Repayments of borrowings under credit facility (505) (850) (1,095) (360)
Proceeds from borrowings under credit facility 505
 850
 1,285
 360
Repayments of other borrowings (238) (4,099) (1,668) (161)
Proceeds from other borrowings 15
 3,788
 1,516
 14
Debt issuance costs 
 (62) (18) 
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests (217) (178) (144) (140)
Proceeds from sales of noncontrolling interests 14
 29
 9
 7
Purchases of noncontrolling interests (643) (722) (6) (642)
Proceeds from exercise of stock options and employee stock purchase plan 15
 5
 3
 14
Other items, net 24
 16
 (35) 14
Net cash used in financing activities (1,030) (1,223) (153) (894)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (111) (287) (162) (208)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 611
 716
 411
 611
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
 $500
 $429
 $249
 $403
Supplemental disclosures:  
  
  
  
Interest paid, net of capitalized interest $(652) $(617) $(484) $(501)
Income tax payments, net $(24) $(54) $(13) $(21)
 
See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.


TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

NOTE 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION
 
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
 
Tenet Healthcare Corporation (together with our subsidiaries, referred to herein as “Tenet,” “we” or “us”) is a national, diversified healthcare services company. At September 30, 2018, we operated 68 hospitals, 21 surgical hospitalsWe operate regionally focused, integrated healthcare delivery networks, primarily in large urban and approximately 475 outpatient centers in the United States throughsuburban markets. Through our subsidiaries, partnerships and joint ventures, including USPI Holding Company, Inc. (“USPI”). Our, at June 30, 2019, we operated 65 hospitals, 23 surgical hospitals and approximately 480 outpatient centers throughout the United States. In addition, our Conifer Holdings, Inc. (“Conifer”) subsidiary provides healthcare business process services in the areas of hospital and physician revenue cycle management and value-based care solutions to healthcare systems, as well as individual hospitals, physician practices, self-insured organizations, health plans and other entities.
 
This quarterly report supplements our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20172018 (“Annual Report”). As permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission for interim reporting, we have omitted certain notes and disclosures that substantially duplicate those in our Annual Report. For further information, refer to the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and notes included in our Annual Report. Unless otherwise indicated, all financial and statistical data included in these notes to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements relate to our continuing operations, with dollar amounts expressed in millions (except per-share amounts).
 
Effective January 1, 2018,2019, we adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers2016-02, “Leases (Topic 606)842)” (“ASU 2014-09”2016-02”) using athe modified retrospective methodtransition approach as of applicationthe period of adoption. Our financial statements for periods prior to all contracts existing on January 1, 2018.2019 were not modified for the application of the new lease accounting standard. The core principle ofmain difference between the guidance in ASU 2014-092016-02 and previous accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transferrecognition of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflectslease assets and lease liabilities on the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchangebalance sheet by lessees for those goods or services. For our Hospital Operations and other and Ambulatory Care segments, the adoption of ASU 2014-09 resulted in changes to our presentation for and disclosure of revenue primarily related to uninsured or underinsured patients. Prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09, a significant portion of our provision for doubtful accounts related to self-pay patients,leases classified as well as co-pays, co-insurance amounts and deductibles owed to us by patients with insurance. Under ASU 2014-09, the estimated uncollectable amounts due from these patients are generally considered implicit price concessions that are a direct reduction to net operating revenues, with a corresponding material reduction in the amounts presented separately as provision for doubtful accounts. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, we recorded approximately $1.052 billion of implicit price concessions as a direct reduction of net operating revenues that would have been recorded as provision for doubtful accounts prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09. At January 1, 2018, we reclassified $171 million of revenues related to patients who were still receiving inpatient care in our facilities at that date from accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts, to contract assets, which are included in other current assets in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2018. The adoption of ASU 2014-09 also resulted in changes to our presentation and disclosure of customer contract assets and liabilities and the assessment of variable considerationleases under customer contracts, which are further discussed in Note 3.

Also effective January 1, 2018, we early adopted ASU 2018-02, “Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220)” (“ASU 2018-02”), which allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded income tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) and requires certain disclosures about stranded income tax effects. We applied the amendments in ASU 2018-02 in the period of adoption, resulting in a reclassification of $36 million of stranded income tax effects from accumulated other comprehensive loss to accumulated deficit in the three months ended March 31, 2018.

In addition, we adopted ASU 2016-01, “Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10) Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities” (“ASU 2016-01”) effective January 1, 2018, which supersedes the guidance to classify equity securities with readily determinable fair values into different categories (that is, trading or available-for-sale) and require equity securities (including other ownership interests, such as partnerships, unincorporated joint ventures and limited liability companies) to be measured at fair value with changes in the fair value recognized through net income.previous GAAP. Upon adoption of ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018,2016-02, we recorded a$822 million of right-of-use assets, net of deferred rent, associated with operating leases in investments and other assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheet, $147 million of current liabilities associated with operating leases in other current liabilities in our condensed consolidated balance sheet and $715 million of long-term liabilities associated with operating leases in other long-term liabilities in our condensed consolidated balance sheet. We also recognized $1 million of cumulative effect adjustment to decreasethat decreased accumulated deficit by approximately $7 million for unrealized gains on equity securities.

Also effectiveat January 1, 2018, we adopted ASU 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments” and ASU 2016-18, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) Restricted Cash,” both of which were applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented. The adoption of these standards did not have any effect on our statements of cash flows.2019.


Although the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes within this document are unaudited, we believe all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included and are of a normal recurring nature. In preparing our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”),GAAP, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and these accompanying notes. We regularly evaluate the accounting policies and estimates we use. In general, we base the estimates on historical experience and on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable given the particular circumstances in which we operate. Actual results may vary from those estimates. Financial and statistical information we report to other regulatory agencies may be prepared on a basis other than GAAP or using different assumptions or reporting periods and, therefore, may vary from amounts presented herein. Although we make every effort to ensure that the information we report to those agencies is accurate, complete and consistent with applicable reporting guidelines, we cannot be responsible for the accuracy of the information they make available to the public.
 
Operating results for the three and ninesix month periods ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. Reasons for this include, but are not limited to: overall revenue and cost trends, particularly the timing and magnitude of price changes; fluctuations in contractual allowances and cost report settlements and valuation allowances; managed care contract negotiations, settlements or terminations and payer consolidations; changes in Medicare and Medicaid regulations; Medicaid and other supplemental funding levels set by the states in which we operate; the timing of approval by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of Medicaid provider fee revenue programs; trends in patient accounts receivable collectability and associated implicit price concessions; fluctuations in interest rates; levels of malpractice insurance expense and settlement trends; impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill; restructuring charges; losses, costs and insurance recoveries related to natural disasters and other weather-related occurrences; litigation and investigation costs; acquisitions and dispositions of facilities and other assets; gains (losses) on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities; income tax rates and deferred tax asset valuation allowance activity; changes in estimates of accruals for annual incentive compensation; the timing and amounts of stock option and restricted stock unit grants to employees and directors; gains or losses(losses) from early extinguishment of debt; and changes in occupancy levels and patient volumes. Factors that affect service mix, revenue mix, patient volumes and, thereby, the results of operations at our hospitals and related healthcare facilities include, but are not limited to: changes in federal and state healthcare regulations; the business

environment, economic conditions and demographics of local communities in which we operate; the number of uninsured and underinsured individuals in local communities treated at our hospitals; seasonal cycles of illness; climate and weather conditions; physician recruitment, satisfaction, retention and attrition; advances in technology and treatments that reduce length of stay; local healthcare competitors; managed care contract negotiations or terminations; the number of patients with high-deductible health insurance plans; hospital performance data on quality measures and patient satisfaction, as well as standard charges for our services; any unfavorable publicity about us, or our joint venture partners, that impacts our relationships with physicians and patients; and the timing of elective procedures. These considerations apply to year-to-year comparisons as well.
 
Translation of Foreign Currencies
We divested European Surgical Partners Limited (“Aspen”) in August of 2018; prior to that time, Aspen’s accounts were measured in its local currency (the pound sterling) and then translated into U.S. dollars. All assets and liabilities were translated using the current rate of exchange at the balance sheet date. Results of operations were translated using the average rates prevailing throughout the period of operations. Translation gains or losses resulting from changes in exchange rates were accumulated in shareholders’ equity until we divested Aspen.
Net Operating Revenues
ASU 2014-09 was issued to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue, to remove inconsistencies and weaknesses in revenue recognition requirements, and to provide a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues. Our adoption of ASU 2014-09 was accomplished using a modified retrospective method of application, and our accounting policies related to revenues were revised accordingly effective January 1, 2018, as discussed below.

We recognize net operating revenues in the period in which we satisfy our performance obligations under contracts by transferring our services to our customers. Net operating revenues are recognized in the amounts to which we expect to be entitled, which are the transaction prices allocated to the distinct services. Net operating revenues for our Hospital Operations and other and Ambulatory Care segments primarily consist of net patient service revenues, principally for patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid, managed care and other health plans, as well as certain uninsured patients under our Compact with Uninsured Patients (“Compact”) and other uninsured discount and charity programs. Net operating revenues for our Conifer segment primarily consist of revenues from providing revenue cycle management services to healthcare systems, as well as individual hospitals, physician practices, self-insured organizations, health plans and other entities.


Net Patient Service Revenues—We report net patient service revenues at the amounts that reflect the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for providing patient care. These amounts are due from patients, third-party payers (including managed care payers and government programs) and others, and they include variable consideration for retroactive revenue adjustments due to settlement of audits, reviews and investigations. Generally, we bill our patients and third-party payers several days after the services are performed or shortly after discharge. Revenues are recognized as performance obligations are satisfied.

We determine performance obligations based on the nature of the services we provide. We recognize revenues for performance obligations satisfied over time based on actual charges incurred in relation to total expected charges. We believe that this method provides a faithful depiction of the transfer of services over the term of performance obligations based on the inputs needed to satisfy the obligations. Generally, performance obligations satisfied over time relate to patients in our hospitals receiving inpatient acute care services. We measure performance obligations from admission to the point when there are no further services required for the patient, which is generally the time of discharge. We recognize revenues for performance obligations satisfied at a point in time, which generally relate to patients receiving outpatient services, when: (1) services are provided; and (2) we do not believe the patient requires additional services.

Because our patient service performance obligations relate to contracts with a duration of less than one year, we have elected to apply the optional exemption provided in FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606-10-50-14(a) and, therefore, we are not required to disclose the aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to performance obligations that are unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied at the end of the reporting period. The unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied performance obligations referred to above are primarily related to inpatient acute care services at the end of the reporting period. The performance obligations for these contracts are generally completed when the patients are discharged, which generally occurs within days or weeks of the end of the reporting period.

We determine the transaction price based on gross charges for services provided, reduced by contractual adjustments provided to third-party payers, discounts provided to uninsured patients in accordance with our Compact, and implicit price concessions provided primarily to uninsured patients. We determine our estimates of contractual adjustments and discounts based on contractual agreements, our discount policies and historical experience. We determine our estimate of implicit price concessions based on our historical collection experience with these classes of patients using a portfolio approach as a practical expedient to account for patient contracts as collective groups rather than individually. The financial statement effects of using this practical expedient are not materially different from an individual contract approach.

Gross charges are retail charges. They are not the same as actual pricing, and they generally do not reflect what a hospital is ultimately paid and, therefore, are not displayed in our consolidated statements of operations. Hospitals are typically paid amounts that are negotiated with insurance companies or are set by the government. Gross charges are used to calculate Medicare outlier payments and to determine certain elements of payment under managed care contracts (such as stop-loss payments). Because Medicare requires that a hospital’s gross charges be the same for all patients (regardless of payer category), gross charges are what hospitals charge all patients prior to the application of discounts and allowances. 

Revenues under the traditional fee-for-service Medicare and Medicaid programs are based primarily on prospective payment systems. Retrospectively determined cost-based revenues under these programs, which were more prevalent in earlier periods, and certain other payments, such as Indirect Medical Education, Direct Graduate Medical Education, disproportionate share hospital and bad debt expense reimbursement, which are based on our hospitals’ cost reports, are estimated using historical trends and current factors. Cost report settlements under these programs are subject to audit by Medicare and Medicaid auditors and administrative and judicial review, and it can take several years until final settlement of such matters is determined and completely resolved. Because the laws, regulations, instructions and rule interpretations governing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement are complex and change frequently, the estimates we record could change by material amounts.

We have a system and estimation process for recording Medicare net patient revenue and estimated cost report settlements. As a result, we record accruals to reflect the expected final settlements on our cost reports. For filed cost reports, we record the accrual based on those cost reports and subsequent activity, and record a valuation allowance against those cost reports based on historical settlement trends. The accrual for periods for which a cost report is yet to be filed is recorded based on estimates of what we expect to report on the filed cost reports, and a corresponding valuation allowance is recorded as previously described. Cost reports generally must be filed within five months after the end of the annual cost reporting period. After the cost report is filed, the accrual and corresponding valuation allowance may need to be adjusted.

Settlements with third-party payers for retroactive revenue adjustments due to audits, reviews or investigations are considered variable consideration and are included in the determination of the estimated transaction price for providing patient

care using the most likely outcome method. These settlements are estimated based on the terms of the payment agreement with the payer, correspondence from the payer and our historical settlement activity, including an assessment to ensure that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the retroactive adjustment is subsequently resolved. Estimated settlements are adjusted in future periods as adjustments become known (that is, new information becomes available), or as years are settled or are no longer subject to such audits, reviews and investigations.

Revenues under managed care plans are based primarily on payment terms involving predetermined rates per diagnosis, per-diem rates, discounted fee-for-service rates and/or other similar contractual arrangements. These revenues are also subject to review and possible audit by the payers, which can take several years before they are completely resolved. The payers are billed for patient services on an individual patient basis. An individual patient’s bill is subject to adjustment on a patient-by-patient basis in the ordinary course of business by the payers following their review and adjudication of each particular bill. We estimate the discounts for contractual allowances at the individual hospital level utilizing billing data on an individual patient basis. At the end of each month, on an individual hospital basis, we estimate our expected reimbursement for patients of managed care plans based on the applicable contract terms. Contractual allowance estimates are periodically reviewed for accuracy by taking into consideration known contract terms, as well as payment history. We believe our estimation and review process enables us to identify instances on a timely basis where such estimates need to be revised. We do not believe there were any adjustments to estimates of patient bills that were material to our revenues. In addition, on a corporate-wide basis, we do not record any general provision for adjustments to estimated contractual allowances for managed care plans. Managed care accounts, net of contractual allowances recorded, are further reduced to their net realizable value through implicit price concessions based on historical collection trends for these payers and other factors that affect the estimation process.

We know of no claims, disputes or unsettled matters with any payer that would materially affect our revenues for which we have not adequately provided in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Generally, patients who are covered by third-party payers are responsible for related co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles, which vary in amount. We also provide services to uninsured patients and offer uninsured patients a discount from standard charges. We estimate the transaction price for patients with co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles and for those who are uninsured based on historical collection experience and current market conditions. Under our Compact and other uninsured discount programs, the discount offered to certain uninsured patients is recognized as a contractual allowance, which reduces net operating revenues at the time the self-pay accounts are recorded. The uninsured patient accounts, net of contractual allowances recorded, are further reduced to their net realizable value at the time they are recorded through implicit price concessions based on historical collection trends for self-pay accounts and other factors that affect the estimation process. There are various factors that can impact collection trends, such as changes in the economy, which in turn have an impact on unemployment rates and the number of uninsured and underinsured patients, the volume of patients through our emergency departments, the increased burden of co-pays, co-insurance amounts and deductibles to be made by patients with insurance, and business practices related to collection efforts. These factors continuously change and can have an impact on collection trends and our estimation process. Subsequent changes to the estimate of the transaction price are generally recorded as adjustments to net patient revenues in the period of the change.

We have provided implicit price concessions, primarily to uninsured patients and patients with co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles. The implicit price concessions included in estimating the transaction price represent the difference between amounts billed to patients and the amounts we expect to collect based on our collection history with similar patients. Although outcomes vary, our policy is to attempt to collect amounts due from patients, including co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles due from patients with insurance, at the time of service while complying with all federal and state statutes and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”). Generally, as required by EMTALA, patients may not be denied emergency treatment due to inability to pay. Therefore, services, including the legally required medical screening examination and stabilization of the patient, are performed without delaying to obtain insurance information. In non-emergency circumstances or for elective procedures and services, it is our policy to verify insurance prior to a patient being treated; however, there are various exceptions that can occur. Such exceptions can include, for example, instances where (1) we are unable to obtain verification because the patient’s insurance company was unable to be reached or contacted, (2) a determination is made that a patient may be eligible for benefits under various government programs, such as Medicaid or Victims of Crime, and it takes several days or weeks before qualification for such benefits is confirmed or denied, and (3) under physician orders we provide services to patients that require immediate treatment.

We also provide charity care to patients who are financially unable to pay for the healthcare services they receive. Most patients who qualify for charity care are charged a per-diem amount for services received, subject to a cap. Except for the per-diem amounts, our policy is not to pursue collection of amounts determined to qualify as charity care; therefore, we do not report these amounts in net operating revenues. Patient advocates from Conifer’s Medical Eligibility Program screen patients in

the hospital to determine whether those patients meet eligibility requirements for financial assistance programs. They also expedite the process of applying for these government programs.

Conifer Revenues—Our Conifer segment recognizes revenue from its contracts when Conifer’s performance obligations are satisfied, which is generally as services are rendered. Revenue is recognized in an amount that reflects the consideration to which Conifer expects to be entitled.

At contract inception, Conifer assesses the services specified in its contracts with customers and identifies a performance obligation for each distinct contracted service. Conifer identifies the performance obligations and considers all the services provided under the contract. Conifer generally considers the following distinct services as separate performance obligations:
revenue cycle management services;
value-based care services;
patient communication and engagement services;
consulting services; and
other client-defined projects.
Conifer’s contracts generally consist of fixed-price, volume-based or contingency-based fees. Conifer’s long-term contracts typically provide for Conifer to deliver recurring monthly services over a multi-year period. The contracts are typically priced such that Conifer’s monthly fee to its customer represents the value obtained by the customer in the month for those services. Such multi-year service contracts may have upfront fees related to transition or integration work performed by Conifer to set up the delivery for the ongoing services. Such transition or integration work typically does not result in a separately identifiable obligation; thus, the fees and expenses related to such work are deferred and recognized over the life of the related contractual service period. Revenue for fixed-priced contracts is typically recognized at the time of billing unless evidence suggests that the revenue is earned or Conifer’s obligations are fulfilled in a different pattern. Revenue for volume-based contracts is typically recognized as the services are being performed at the contractually billable rate, which is generally a percentage of collections or a percentage of client net patient revenue.

Cash and Cash Equivalents
 
We treat highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less as cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents were approximately $500$249 million and $611$411 million at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017,2018, respectively. At SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017,2018, our book overdrafts were approximately $235$251 million and $311$288 million, respectively, which were classified as accounts payable.
 
At SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017, approximately $1652018, $156 million and $179$177 million, respectively, of total cash and cash equivalents in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets were intended for the operations of our captive insurance subsidiaries, and approximately $28$2 million and $30$8 million, respectively, of total cash and cash equivalents in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets were intended for the operations of our health plan-related businesses.
 
Also at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017,2018, we had $86$80 million and $117$135 million, respectively, of property and equipment purchases accrued for items received but not yet paid. Of these amounts, $61$53 million and $79$114 million, respectively, were included in accounts payable.

During the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, we entered into non-cancellable capital (finance) leases of approximately $94$58 million and $82$50 million, respectively, primarily for equipment.respectively.
 

Other Intangible Assets
 
The following tables provide information regarding other intangible assets, which are included in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017:2018: 

 Gross
Carrying
Amount
 Accumulated
Amortization
 Net Book
Value
 Gross
Carrying
Amount
 Accumulated
Amortization
 Net Book
Value
At September 30, 2018:      
At June 30, 2019:      
Capitalized software costs $1,680
 $(842) $838
 $1,615
 $(881) $734
Trade names 102
 
 102
 102
 
 102
Contracts 865
 (72) 793
 874
 (86) 788
Other 105
 (76) 29
 105
 (84) 21
Total
 $2,752
 $(990) $1,762
 $2,696
 $(1,051) $1,645
 Gross
Carrying
Amount
 Accumulated
Amortization
  Net Book
Value
 Gross
Carrying
Amount
 Accumulated
Amortization
  Net Book
Value
At December 31, 2017:      
At December 31, 2018:      
Capitalized software costs $1,582
 $(754) $828
 $1,667
 $(858) $809
Trade names 102
 
 102
 102
 
 102
Contracts 859
 (60) 799
 871
 (76) 795
Other 106
 (69) 37
 104
 (79) 25
Total
 $2,649
 $(883) $1,766
 $2,744
 $(1,013) $1,731

 
Estimated future amortization of intangibles with finite useful lives at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 is as follows: 
    Three Months
Ending
 Years Ending Later Years
    December 31, 
  Total 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 
Amortization of intangible assets $1,090
 $41
 $152
 $127
 $108
 $97
 $565
    Six Months
Ending
 Years Ending Later Years
    December 31, 
  Total 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 
Amortization of intangible assets $964
 $76
 $130
 $115
 $99
 $89
 $455

 
We recognized amortization expense of $134$90 million and $125$89 million in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018, and 2017, respectively.
Investments in Debt and Equity Securities

Prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018, we classified investments in debt and equity securities as either available-for-sale, held-to-maturity or as part of a trading portfolio. At December 31, 2017, we had no significant investments in securities classified as either held-to-maturity or trading. We carried securities classified as available-for-sale at fair value. We reported their unrealized gains and losses, net of taxes, as accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) unless we determined that a loss was other-than-temporary, at which point we would record a loss in our consolidated statements of operations. We included realized gains or losses in our consolidated statements of operations based on the specific identification method.

Subsequent to the adoption of ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018, we classify investments in debt securities as either available-for-sale, held-to-maturity or as part of a trading portfolio, but these classifications are no longer applicable to equity securities. At September 30, 2018, we had no significant investments in debt securities classified as either held-to-maturity or trading. We carry debt securities classified as available-for-sale at fair value. We report their unrealized gains and losses, net of taxes, as accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) unless we determine that a loss is other-than-temporary, at which point we would record a loss in our consolidated statements of operations. We carry equity securities at fair value, and we report their unrealized gains and losses in other non-operating expense, net, in our consolidated statements of operations. We include realized gains or losses in our consolidated statements of operations based on the specific identification method.

Investments in Unconsolidated Affiliates

We control 228232 of the facilities within our Ambulatory Care segment and, therefore, consolidate their results. We account for many of the facilities our Ambulatory Care segment operates (107(112 of 335344 at SeptemberJune 30, 2018)2019), as well as additional facilitiescompanies in which our Hospital Operations and other segment holds ownership interests, under the equity method as investments in unconsolidated affiliates and report only our share of net income available to the investee as equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Summarized financial information for thethese equity method investees within our Ambulatory Care segment is included in the following table, as well as summarized financial information fortable; among the equity method investees are four North Texas hospitals in which we held minority interests that were operated by our Hospital Operations and other segment through the divestiture of these investments effective March 1, 2018. We recorded a gain of approximately $13 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2018 due to the sales of our minority interests in

these hospitals. For investments acquired during the reportedreporting periods, amounts reflect 100% of the investee’s results beginning on the date of our acquisition of the investment.
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net operating revenues $546
 $635
 $1,667
 $1,819
 $619
 $547
 $1,187
 $1,121
Net income $126
 $143
 $374
 $376
 $141
 $132
 $291
 $248
Net income available to the investees $80
 $93
 $240
 $242
 $87
 $89
 $193
 $160



NOTE 2. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
 
The principal components of accounts receivable are shown in the table below: 
 September 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 June 30, 2019 December 31, 2018
Continuing operations:  
  
  
  
Patient accounts receivable $2,336
 $3,376
 $2,525
 $2,427
Allowance for doubtful accounts 
 (898)
Estimated future recoveries 139
 132
 158
 148
Net cost reports and settlements payable and valuation allowances 7
 4
Net cost reports and settlements receivable and valuation allowances 49
 18
 2,482
 2,614
 2,732
 2,593
Discontinued operations 2
 2
 2
 2
Accounts receivable $2,484
 $2,616
Accounts receivable, net $2,734
 $2,595

 
Accounts that are pursued for collection through Conifer’s business offices are maintained on our hospitals’ books and reflected in patient accounts receivable. For patient accounts receivable resulting from revenue recognized prior to January 1, 2018, an allowance for doubtful accounts was established to reduce the carrying value of such receivables to their estimated net realizable value. Generally, we estimated this allowance based on the aging of our accounts receivable by hospital, our historical collection experience by hospital and for each type of payer, and other relevant factors. At December 31, 2017, our allowance for doubtful accounts was 26.6% of our patient accounts receivable. Under the provisions of ASC 2014-09, which we adopted effective January 1, 2018, when we have an unconditional right to payment, subject only to the passage of time, the right is treated as a receivable. Patient accounts receivable, including billed accounts and certain unbilled accounts, for which we have the unconditional right to payment, andas well as estimated amounts due from third-party payers for retroactive adjustments, are receivables if our right to consideration is unconditional and only the passage of time is required before payment of that consideration is due. For patient accounts receivable subsequent to our adoption of ASU 2014-09 on January 1, 2018, the estimatedEstimated uncollectable amounts are generally considered implicit price concessions that are a direct reduction to patient accounts receivable rather than allowance for doubtful accounts.

We had $297 million and $149 million of receivables recorded in other current assets and investments and other assets, respectively, and $91 million and $29 million of payables recorded in other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, respectively, in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at June 30, 2019 related to California’s provider fee program. We had $278 million and $231 million of receivables recorded in other current assets and investments and other assets, respectively, and $100 million and $42 million of payables recorded in other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, respectively, in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2018 related to California’s provider fee program.
 
We also provide financial assistance through our charity careand uninsured discount programs to uninsured patients who are unable to pay for the healthcare services they receive. Most patients who qualify for charity care are charged a per-diem amount for services received, subject to a cap. Except for the per-diem amounts, ourOur policy is not to pursue collection of amounts determined to qualify as charity care;for financial assistance; therefore, we do not report these amounts in net operating revenues. Most states include an estimate of the cost of charity care in the determination of a hospital’s eligibility for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (“DSH”) payments. These payments are intended to mitigate our cost of uncompensated care, as well as reducedcare. Some states have also developed provider fee or other supplemental payment programs to mitigate the shortfall of Medicaid funding levels. reimbursement compared to the cost of caring for Medicaid patients.

The following table shows our estimated costs (based on selected operating expenses, which include salaries, wages and benefits, supplies and other operating expenses and which exclude the costs of our health plan businesses) of caring for our self-pay patientsuninsured and charity care patients as well as revenues attributable to Medicaid DSH and other supplemental revenues we recognized in the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017:2018:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Estimated costs for:  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Self-pay patients $172
 $164
 $477
 $484
Uninsured patients $164
 $159
 $322
 $305
Charity care patients 28
 29
 91
 92
 41
 28
 75
 63
Total $200
 $193
 $568
 $576
 $205
 $187
 $397
 $368
Medicaid DSH and other supplemental revenues $233
 $140
 $651
 $462
 
 
At September 30, 2018, we had approximately $147 million and $318 million of receivables recorded in other current assets and investments and other assets, respectively, and approximately $61 million and $68 million of payables recorded in

other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, respectively, in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet related to California’s provider fee program. At December 31, 2017, we had approximately $312 million and $266 million of receivables recorded in other current assets and investments and other assets, respectively, and approximately $159 million and $49 million recorded in other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, respectively, in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet related to California’s provider fee program.
NOTE 3. CONTRACT BALANCES

Hospital Operations and Other Segment
    
Under the provisions of ASU 2014-09, which we adopted effective January 1, 2018, amountsAmounts related to services provided to patients for which we have not billed and that do not meet the conditions of unconditional right to payment at the end of the reporting period are contract assets. For our Hospital Operations and other segment, our contract assets consist primarily of services that we have provided to patients who are still receiving inpatient care in our facilities at the end of the reporting period. Our Hospital Operations and other segment’s contract assets are included in other current assets onin the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019. The opening and closing balances of contract assets for our Hospital Operations and other segment are as follows:
  2018 2017
January 1, $171
 $
September 30, 152
 
Increase/(decrease) $(19) $

December 31, 2018 $169
June 30, 2019 160
Increase/(decrease) $(9)
January 1, 2018 $171
June 30, 2018 136
Increase/(decrease) $(35)


The increase in the contract asset balances from the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2017 is due to the implementation of ASU 2014-09 effective January 1, 2018 using a modified retrospective method of application. Prior to January 1, 2018, amounts related to services provided to patients for which we had not billed were included in accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts, on our consolidated balance sheets. Approximately 89% of our Hospital Operations and other segment’s contract assets meet the conditions for unconditional right to payment and are reclassified to patient receivables within 90 days.

Conifer Segment

Conifer enters into contracts with customers to sell revenue cycle management and other services, such as value-based care, consulting and project services. The payment terms and conditions in our customer contracts vary. In some cases, customers are invoiced in advance and (for other than fixed-price fee arrangements) a true-up to the actual fee is included on a subsequent invoice. In other cases, payment is due in arrears. In addition, some contracts contain performance incentives, penalties and other forms of variable consideration. When the timing of Conifer’s delivery of services is different from the timing of payments made by the customers, Conifer recognizes either unbilled revenue (performance precedes contractual right to invoice the customer) or deferred revenue (customer payment precedes Conifer service performance). In the following table, customers that prepay prior to obtaining control/benefit of the service are represented by deferred contract revenue until the performance obligations are satisfied. Unbilled revenue represents arrangements in which Conifer has provided services to and the customer has obtained control/benefit of services prior to the contractual invoice date. Contracts with payment in arrears are recognized as receivables in the month the service is performed.
    
The opening and closing balances of Conifer’s receivables, contract asset, and current and long-term contract liabilities are as follows:
     Contract Liability- Contract Liability-     Contract Liability- Contract Liability-
   Contract Asset- Current Long-Term   Contract Asset- Current Long-Term
 Receivables Unbilled Revenue Deferred Revenue Deferred Revenue Receivables Unbilled Revenue Deferred Revenue Deferred Revenue
January 1, 2018 $89
 $10
 $80
 $21
September 30, 2018 89
 11
 74
 21
December 31, 2018 $42
 $11
 $61
 $20
June 30, 2019 96
 15
 67
 19
Increase/(decrease) $
 $1
 $(6) $
 $54
 $4
 $6
 $(1)
                
January 1, 2017 $67
 $8
 $76
 $26
September 30, 2017 102
 6
 79
 22
January 1, 2018 $89
 $10
 $80
 $21
June 30, 2018 90
 11
 78
 21
Increase/(decrease) $35
 $(2) $3
 $(4) $1
 $1
 $(2) $

The difference between the opening and closing balances of Conifer’s contract assets and contract liabilities are primarily related to prepayments for those customers who are billed in advance, changes in estimates related to metric-based

services, and up-front integration services that are typically not distinct and are, therefore, recognized over the performance obligation period to which they relate. Our Conifer segment’s receivables and contract assets are reported as part of other current assets in our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, and our Conifer segment’s current and long-term contract liabilities are reported as part of other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities, respectively, in our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The amount of revenue Conifer recognized in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 20172018 that was included in the opening current deferred revenue liability was $68$56 million and $72$66 million, respectively. This revenue consists primarily of prepayments for those customers who are billed in advance, changes in estimates related to metric-based services, and up-front integration services that are recognized over the services period.


Contract Costs

We have elected to apply the practical expedient provided by FASB ASCAccounting Standards Codification 340-40-25-4 and expense as incurred the incremental customer contract acquisition costs for contracts in which the amortization period of the asset that we otherwise would have recognized is one year or less. However, incremental costs incurred to obtain and fulfill customer contracts for which the amortization period of the asset that we otherwise would have recognized is longer than one year, which consist primarily of Conifer deferred contract setup costs, are capitalized and amortized on a straight-line basis over the lesser of their estimated useful lives or the term of the related contract. We recognized amortization expense of $3 million in both ofDuring the three month periods ended September 30, 2018 and 2017. During the nine months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, we recognized amortization expense of $9$1 million and $7$3 million, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, we recognized amortization expense of $2 million and $6 million, respectively. At SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017,2018, the unamortized customer contract costs were $31$27 million and $35$28 million, respectively, and are presented as part of investments and other assets in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

NOTE 4. ASSETS AND LIABILITIES HELD FOR SALE 
    
There were no assets or liabilities classified as held for sale at June 30, 2019. In the three months ended December 31, 2017, three of our hospitals in the Chicago-area, as well as other operations affiliated with the hospitals, met the criteria to be classified as held for sale. As a result, we have classified these assets totaling $117$107 million as “assets held for sale” in current assets and the related liabilities of $55$43 million as “liabilities held for sale” in current liabilities onin the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30,December 31, 2018. These assets and liabilities, which arewere in our Hospital Operations and other segment until their divestiture on January 28, 2019, were recorded at the lower of their carrying amount or their fair value less estimated costs to sell. We recorded impairment charges of $17 million and $73 million in the three months ended March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, for the write-down of the assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, as a result of the planned divestiture of these assets. On July 18, 2018, we announced the signing of a definitive agreement for the sale of these hospitals and hospital-affiliated operations.

In addition, certain assets and the related liabilities of our health plan in California were classified as held for sale in the three months ended December 31, 2017. We have classified $11 million of assets as “assets held for sale” in current assets and the related liabilities of $16 million as “liabilities held for sale” in current liabilities on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2018 related to this health plan. These assets and liabilities, which are in our Hospital Operations and other segment, were recorded at the lower of their carrying amount or their fair value less estimated costs to sell. There was no impairment recorded for a write-down of assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, as a result of the planned divestiture of this health plan.

Assets and liabilities classified as held for sale at September 30, 2018 were comprised of the following:
Accounts receivable $56
Other current assets 18
Investments and other long-term assets 2
Property and equipment 45
Goodwill 7
Current liabilities (64)
Long-term liabilities (7)
Net assets held for sale $57


In the three months ended September 30, 2018, we completed the sale of our nine Aspen facilities in the United Kingdom for net pre-tax cash proceeds of approximately $15 million; these assets met the criteria to be classified as held for sale in the three months ended September 30, 2017. We recorded impairment charges related to this planned divestiture in each

of the three month periods ended September 30, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017 of $5 million, $4 million and $59 million, respectively, for the write-down of assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell.

In the three months ended June 30, 2018, we completed the sale of our hospital, physician practices and other hospital-affiliated operations in St. Louis, Missouri; these assets met the criteria to be classified as held for sale in the three months ended December 31, 2017. As a result of this transaction, we recorded a gain on sale of approximately $12 million and received net pre-tax cash proceeds of $54 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018.

In the three months ended March 31, 2018, we completed the sale of MacNeal Hospital, which is located in a suburb of Chicago, and other operations affiliated with the hospital; these assets met the criteria to be classified as held for sale in the three months ended September 30, 2017. As a result of this transaction, we recorded a gain on sale of $88 million and received net pre-tax cash proceeds of $249 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2018.

The real estate related to Abrazo Maryvale Hospital in Arizona, which we closed in December 2017, was divested in the three months ended March 31, 2018, resulting in net pre-tax proceeds of $7 million. The real estate was classified as held for sale in the three months ended December 31, 2017.

In the three months ended September 30, 2017, we entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of our hospitals, physician practices and related assets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area. At that time, we recorded impairment charges of $235 million for the write-down of assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, as a result of this anticipated transaction. This transaction closed in January 2018, resulting in net pre-tax proceeds of $152.5 million in cash and a secured promissory note for $17.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2018.

The following table provides information on significant components of our business that have been disposed of since June 30, 2017 or are classified as held for sale at September 30,January 1, 2018:

  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2018 2017 2018 2017
Significant disposals:        
Income (loss) from continuing operations, before income taxes         
   Houston (includes an $111 million gain on sale
in the 2017 period)
 $
 $108
 $
 $136
   Philadelphia (includes $235 million of impairment charges
in the 2017 period)
 1
 (233) (10) (245)
   MacNeal (includes an $88 million gain on sale
in the 2018 period)
 (7) 5
 90
 23
   Aspen (includes $59 million of impairment charges
in the 2017 period)
 (6) (63) (6) (69)
      Total $(12) $(183) $74
 $(155)
           
Significant planned divestitures classified as held for sale:        
Income (loss) from continuing operations, before income taxes         
   Chicago-area (includes $17 million of impairment charges
in the 2018 period)
 $(10) $(2) $(25) $(5)
      Total $(10) $(2) $(25) $(5)
  Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
  2019 2018 2019 2018
Significant disposals:        
Income (loss) from continuing operations, before income taxes         
   Chicago-area (includes a $6 million loss on sale in the 2019 year-to-date period and $17 million of impairment charges in the 2018 year-to-date period) $1
 $1
 $(11) $(15)
   Philadelphia (includes a $2 million loss on sale in the 2018 year-to-date period) 
 (2) 1
 (11)
   MacNeal (includes a $95 million gain on sale in the 2018 year-to-date period) 1
 (4) 2
 97
   Aspen (includes a $4 million of impairment charges in the 2018 year-to-date period) 
 (3) 
 
      Total $2
 $(8) $(8) $71


NOTE 5. IMPAIRMENT AND RESTRUCTURING CHARGES, AND ACQUISITION-RELATED COSTS
 
During the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $55 million, consisting of $5 million of impairment charges, $47 million of restructuring charges and $3 million of acquisition-related costs. Restructuring charges consisted of $18 million of employee severance costs, $2 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $27 million of other restructuring costs. Acquisition-related costs consisted of $3 million of transaction costs. Our impairment charges for the six months ended June 30, 2019 were comprised of $4 million from our Hospital Operations and other segment and $1 million from our Ambulatory Care segment.

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $123$77 million, consisting of $29$23 million of impairment charges, $82$47 million of restructuring charges and $12$7 million of acquisition-related costs. Impairment charges consisted primarily of $17 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for certain of our Chicago-area facilities, $9$4 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for Aspen and $3$2 million of other impairment charges. Restructuring charges consisted of $47$26 million of employee severance costs, $10$5 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $25 million of other restructuring costs. Acquisition-related costs consisted of $8 million of transaction costs and $4 million of acquisition integration charges. Our impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were comprised of $81 million from our Hospital Operations and other segment, $20 million from our Ambulatory Care segment and $22 million from our Conifer segment.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2017, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $403 million, consisting of $326 million of impairment charges, $61 million of restructuring charges and $16 million of acquisition-related costs. Impairment charges consisted primarily of approximately $294 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for our Aspen and Philadelphia-area facilities, $29 million of impairment of two equity method investments and $3 million to write-down intangible assets. Restructuring charges consisted of $40 million of employee severance costs, $8 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $13 million of other restructuring costs. Acquisition-related costs consisted of $5 million of transaction

costs and $11$2 million of acquisition integration charges. Our impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20172018 were comprised of $319$19 million from our Hospital Operations and other segment $70and $4 million from our Ambulatory Care segment and $14 million from our Conifer segment.
 
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 theeach facility’s most recent projections. If these projections are not met, or if in the future negative trends occur or continue that impact our future outlook, impairments of long-lived assets and goodwill may occur, and we may incur additional impairment or restructuring charges, which could be material.
 
At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, our continuing operations consisted of three reportable segments, Hospital Operations and other, Ambulatory Care and Conifer. Our segments are reporting units used to perform our goodwill impairment analysis.
 
We periodically incur costs to implement restructuring efforts for specific operations, which are recorded in our consolidated statementsstatement 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.

NOTE 6. LEASES

The following table presents the components of our right-of-use assets and liabilities related to leases and their classification in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at June 30, 2019:
Component of Lease Balances Classification in Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet June 30, 2019
Assets:    
Operating lease assets Investments and other assets
 $874
Finance lease assets Property and equipment, at cost, less
accumulated depreciation and amortization
 439
Total leased assets   $1,313
     
Liabilities:    
Operating lease liabilities:    
Current Other current liabilities $149
Long-term Other long-term liabilities 819
Total operating lease liabilities   968
Finance lease liabilities:    
Current Current portion of long-term debt 141
Long-term Long-term debt, net of current portion 214
Total finance lease liabilities   355
Total lease liabilities   $1,323


We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception of the contract. Our right-of-use assets represent our right to use the underlying assets for the lease term and our lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the leases. Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. We use our estimated incremental borrowing rate, which is derived from information available at the lease commencement date, in determining the present value of lease payments. For our Hospital Operations and other and Conifer segments, we estimate our incremental borrowing rates for our portfolio of leases using documented rates included in our recent equipment finance leases or, if applicable, recent secured debt issuances that correspond to various lease terms. We also give consideration to information obtained from our bankers, our secured debt fair value and publicly available data for instruments with similar characteristics. For our Ambulatory Care segment, we estimate an incremental borrowing rate for each center by utilizing historical and projected financial data, estimating a hypothetical credit rating using publicly available market data and adjusting the market data to reflect the effects of collateralization.

Our operating leases are primarily for real estate, including off-campus outpatient facilities, medical office buildings, and corporate and other administrative offices, as well as medical and office equipment. Our finance leases are primarily for medical equipment and information technology and telecommunications assets. Our real estate lease agreements typically have initial terms of five to 10 years, and our equipment lease agreements typically have initial terms of three years. We do not record leases with an initial term of 12 months or less (“short-term leases”) in our consolidated balance sheets.

Our real estate leases may include one or more options to renew, with renewals that can extend the lease term from five to 10 years. The exercise of lease renewal options is at our sole discretion. In general, we do not consider renewal options

to be reasonably likely to be exercised, therefore, renewal options are generally not recognized as part of our right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. Certain leases also include options to purchase the leased property. The useful life of assets and leasehold improvements are limited by the expected lease term, unless there is a transfer of title or purchase option reasonably certain of exercise. The majority of our medical equipment leases have terms of three years with a bargain purchase option that is reasonably certain of exercise, so these assets are depreciated over their useful life, typically ranging from five to seven years. Similarly, some of our leases of information technology and telecommunications assets include a transfer of title and, therefore, have useful lives of 15 years.

Certain of our lease agreements for real estate include payments based on actual common area maintenance expenses and others include rental payments adjusted periodically for inflation. These variable lease payments are recognized in other operating expenses, net, but are not included in the right-of-use asset or liability balances. Our lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees, restrictions or covenants.

We have elected the practical expedient that allows lessees to choose to not separate lease and non-lease components by class of underlying asset and are applying this expedient to all relevant asset classes. We have also elected the practical expedient package to not reassess at adoption (i) expired or existing contracts for whether they are or contain a lease, (ii) the lease classification of any existing leases or (iii) initial indirect costs for existing leases.

The following table presents the components of our lease expense and their classification in our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019:
  Classification on Condensed Consolidated Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
Component of Lease Expense Statements of Operations June 30, 2019 June 30, 2019
Operating lease expense Other operating expenses, net $52
 $102
Finance lease expense:      
Amortization of leased assets Depreciation and amortization 23
 41
Interest on lease liabilities Interest expense 3
 8
Total finance lease expense   26
 49
Variable and short term-lease expense Other operating expenses, net 33
 67
Total lease expense   $111
 $218

The weighted-average lease terms and discount rates for operating and finance leases are presented in the following table:
June 30, 2019
Weighted-average remaining lease term (years)
Operating leases7.7
Finance leases6.0
Weighted-average discount rate
Operating leases5.5%
Finance leases5.6%

Cash flow and other information related to leases is included in the following table:
  Six Months Ended
  June 30, 2019
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:  
Operating cash outflows from operating leases $95
Operating cash outflows from finance leases $9
Financing cash outflows from finance leases $75
   
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations:  
Operating leases $139
Finance leases $58



Future maturities of lease liabilities at June 30, 2019 are presented in the following table:
  Operating Leases Finance Leases Total
2019 $149
 $141
 $290
2020 176
 128
 304
2021 163
 72
 235
2022 145
 19
 164
2023 124
 13
 137
Later years 492
 124
 616
Total lease payments 1,249
 497
 1,746
Less: Imputed interest 281
 142
 423
Total lease obligations 968
 355
 1,323
Less: Current obligations 149
 141
 290
Long-term lease obligations $819
 $214
 $1,033


Future maturities of lease liabilities at December 31, 2018, prior to our adoption of ASU 2016-02, are presented in the following table:
   Years Ending December 31, Later Years
 Total 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 
Capital lease obligations$425
 $140
 $95
 $57
 $37
 $21
 $75
Long-term non-cancelable operating leases$932
 $171
 $151
 $133
 $113
 $92
 $272


NOTE 7. LONG-TERM DEBT AND LEASE OBLIGATIONS

The table below shows our long-term debt at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017:2018:
 
September 30,
2018
 December 31, 2017 June 30, 2019 December 31, 2018
Senior unsecured notes:  
  
  
  
5.500% due 2019 $500
 $500
 $
 $468
6.750% due 2020 300
 300
 
 300
8.125% due 2022 2,800
 2,800
 2,800
 2,800
6.750% due 2023 1,872
 1,900
 1,872
 1,872
7.000% due 2025 478
 500
 478
 478
6.875% due 2031 362
 430
 362
 362
Senior secured first lien notes:  
  
  
  
4.750% due 2020 500
 500
 500
 500
6.000% due 2020 1,800
 1,800
 1,800
 1,800
4.500% due 2021 850
 850
 850
 850
4.375% due 2021 1,050
 1,050
 1,050
 1,050
4.625% due 2024 1,870
 1,870
 1,870
 1,870
Senior secured second lien notes:        
7.500% due 2022 750
 750
 
 750
5.125% due 2025 1,410
 1,410
 1,410
 1,410
Capital leases 424
 431
Mortgage notes 78
 77
Unamortized issue costs, note discounts and premiums (194) (231)
6.250% due 2027 1,500
 
Credit facility due 2020 190
 
Finance leases and mortgage notes 467
 500
Unamortized issue costs and note discounts (173) (184)
Total long-term debt
 14,850
 14,937
 14,976
 14,826
Less current portion 672
 146
 664
 182
Long-term debt, net of current portion
 $14,178
 $14,791
 $14,312
 $14,644

 

Senior Secured and Senior Unsecured Notes

InOn February 5, 2019, we sold $1.5 billion aggregate principal amount of 6.250% senior secured second lien notes, which will mature on February 1, 2027 (the “2027 Senior Secured Second Lien Notes”). We will pay interest on the 2027 Senior Secured Second Lien Notes semi-annually in arrears on February 1 and August 2018, we purchased approximately $381 of each year, which payments commenced on August 1, 2019. The proceeds from the sale of the 2027 Senior Secured Second Lien Notes were used, after payment of fees and expenses, together with cash on hand and borrowings under our senior secured revolving credit facility, to fund the redemption of all $300 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.875%outstanding 6.750% senior unsecured notes due 2031 for approximately $36 million, including approximately $1 million in accrued2020 and unpaid interest through the dates of purchase.all


In May 2018, we purchased approximately $30$750 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.875%outstanding 7.500% senior secured second lien notes due 2022, as well as the repayment upon maturity of all $468 million aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 5.500% senior unsecured notes due 2031 for approximately $28 million.March 1, 2019. In connection with the purchase,redemptions, we recorded a loss from early extinguishment of debt of approximately $1 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018, primarily related to the write-off of associated unamortized note discount and issuance costs, partially offset by the difference between the purchase price and the par value of the notes.

In March 2018, we purchased approximately $28 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.750% senior unsecured notes due 2023 and approximately $22 million aggregate principal amount of our 7.000% senior unsecured notes due 2025 for approximately $51 million, including approximately $1 million in accrued and unpaid interest through the dates of purchase. In connection with the purchase, we recorded a loss from early extinguishment of debt of approximately $1$47 million in the three months ended March 31, 2018,2019, primarily related to the difference between the redemption prices and the par values of the notes, as well as the write-off of the associated unamortized issuance costs.

Credit Agreement
 
We have a senior secured revolving credit facility (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”) that provides, subject to borrowing availability, for revolving loans in an aggregate principal amount of up to $1 billion, with a $300 million subfacility for standby letters of credit. Obligations under the Credit Agreement, which has a scheduled maturity date of December 4, 2020, are guaranteed by substantially all of our domestic wholly owned hospital subsidiaries and are secured by a first-priority lien on the accounts receivable owned by us and the subsidiary guarantors. Outstanding revolving loans accrue interest at a base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.25% to 0.75% per annum or the London Interbank Offered Rate plus a margin ranging from 1.25% to 1.75% per annum, in each case based on available credit. An unused commitment fee payable on the undrawn portion of the revolving loans ranges from 0.25% to 0.375% per annum based on available credit. Our borrowing availability is based on a specified percentage of eligible accounts receivable, including self-pay accounts. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we had no$190 million of cash borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement subject to a weighted average interest rate of 3.77%, and we had approximately $2 million of standby letters of credit outstanding. Based on our eligible receivables, approximately $998$808 million was available for borrowing under the Credit Agreement at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019.
 
Letter of Credit Facility
 
We have a letter of credit facility (as amended, the “LC Facility”) that provides for the issuance of standby and documentary letters of credit, from time to time, in an aggregate principal amount of up to $180 million (subject to increase to up to $200 million). The maturity date of the LC Facility is March 7, 2021. Obligations under the LC Facility are guaranteed and secured by a first-priority pledge of the capital stock and other ownership interests of certain of our wholly owned domestic hospital subsidiaries on an equal ranking basis with our senior secured first lien notes.

Drawings under any letter of credit issued under the LC Facility that we have not reimbursed within three business days after notice thereof will accrue interest at a base rate plus a margin equal to 0.50% per annum. An unused commitment fee is payable at an initial rate of 0.25% per annum with a step up to 0.375% per annum should our secured-debt-to-EBITDA ratio equal or exceed 3.00 to 1.00 at the end of any fiscal quarter. A fee on the aggregate outstanding amount of issued but undrawn letters of credit will accrueaccrues at a rate of 1.50% per annum. An issuance fee equal to 0.125% per annum of the aggregate face amount of each outstanding letter of credit is payable to the account of the issuer of the related letter of credit. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we had approximately $96$100 million of standby letters of credit outstanding under the LC Facility.
 
NOTE 7.8. GUARANTEES
 
At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, the maximum potential amount of future payments under our income guarantees to certain physicians who agree to relocate and revenue collection guarantees to hospital-based physician groups providing certain services at our hospitals was $186$138 million. We had a total liability of $138$112 million recorded for these guarantees included in other current liabilities at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019.
 
At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we also had issued guarantees of the indebtedness and other obligations of our investees to third parties, the maximum potential amount of future payments under which was approximately $27$24 million. Of the total,

$18 $8 million relates to the obligations of consolidated subsidiaries, which obligations are recorded in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019.
 
NOTE 8.9. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Share-Based Compensation Plans
 
In recent years, we have granted both options and restricted stock units to certain of our employees.employees and directors pursuant to our stock incentive plans. Options have an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the shares on the date of grant and generally expire 10 years from the date of grant. A restricted stock unit is a contractual right to receive one share of our common stock or the equivalent value in cash in the future. Typically, options and time-based restricted stock units vest one-third on each of the first three anniversary dates of the grant; however, certain special retention awards may have different vesting terms. In addition, we grant performance-based options and performance-based restricted stock units that vest subject to the achievement of specified

performance goals within a specified time frame. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, assuming outstanding performance-based restricted stock units and options for which performance has not yet been determined will achieve target performance, approximately 5.28.0 million shares of common stock were available under our 20082019 Stock Incentive Plan for future stock option grants and other equity incentive awards, including restricted stock units (approximately 4.17.7 million shares remain available if we assume maximum performance for outstanding performance-based restricted stock units and options for which performance has not yet been determined).
 
OurThe accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018 and 2017 include $34$23 million and $44$20 million, respectively, of pre-tax compensation costs related to our stock-based compensation arrangements.
 
Stock Options
 
The following table summarizes stock option activity during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018:2019:
  Options Weighted Average
Exercise Price
Per Share
 Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
 Weighted Average
Remaining Life
      (In Millions)  
Outstanding at December 31, 2017 2,564,822
 $20.35
    
Granted 635,196
 21.33
    
Exercised (612,074) 18.36
    
Forfeited/Expired (299,581) 36.21
    
Outstanding at September 30, 2018 2,288,363
 $19.08
 $22
 7.0 years
Vested and expected to vest at September 30, 2018 2,288,363
 $19.08
 $22
 7.0 years
Exercisable at September 30, 2018 774,812
 $17.34
 $9
 3.4 years
  Options Weighted Average
Exercise Price
Per Share
 Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
 Weighted Average
Remaining Life
      (In Millions)  
Outstanding at December 31, 2018 2,262,743
 $19.12
    
Granted 230,713
 28.28
    
Exercised (76,159) 4.56
    
Forfeited/Expired (120,871) 19.25
    
Outstanding at June 30, 2019 2,296,426
 $20.52
 $3
 6.4 years
Vested and expected to vest at June 30, 2019 2,296,426
 $20.52
 $3
 6.4 years
Exercisable at June 30, 2019 684,628
 $19.03
 $2
 3.1 years


There were 612,07476,159 and 16,525581,120 stock options exercised during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively, with aggregate intrinsic values of approximately $4$1 million and less than $1$3 million, respectively.

At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, there were $7$6 million of total unrecognized compensation costs related to stock options. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.11.9 years.

On March 29, 2019, we granted an aggregate of 7,862 performance-based stock options to a new senior officer. The options will all vest on the third anniversary of the grant date, subject to the achievement of a closing stock price of at least $36.05 (a 25% premium above the March 29, 2019 grant-date closing stock price of $28.84) for at least 20 consecutive trading days within three years of the grant date, and will expire on the tenth anniversary of the grant date. On February 27, 2019, we granted to certain of our senior officers an aggregate of 222,851 performance-based stock options. The options will all vest on the third anniversary of the grant date, subject to the achievement of a closing stock price of at least $35.33 (a 25% premium above the February 27, 2019 grant-date closing stock price of $28.26) for at least 20 consecutive trading days within three years of the grant date, and will expire on the tenth anniversary of the grant date.

In the three months ended June 30, 2018, we granted an aggregate ofnew senior officers 31,184 performance-based stock options under our 2008 Stock Incentive Plan to new senior officers.options. The options will all vest on the third anniversary of the grant date, subject to achieving a closing stock price of at least $44.29 (a 25% premium above the May 31, 2018 grant-date closing stock price of $35.43) for at least 20 consecutive trading days within three years of the grant date, and will expire on the tenth anniversary of the grant date. In the three months ended March 31, 2018, we granted to certain of our senior officers an aggregate of 604,012 performance-based stock options under our 2008 Stock Incentive Plan to certain of our senior officers.options. The stock options will all vest on the third anniversary of the grant date because, in the three months ended June 30, 2018, the requirement that our stock close at a price of at least $25.75 (a 25% premium above the February 28, 2018 grant-date closing stock price of $20.60) for at least 20 consecutive trading days within three years of the grant date was met; these options will expire on the tenth anniversary of the grant date.

In the three months ended September 30, 2017, we granted 408,526 performance-based stock options under our 2008 Stock Incentive Plan to our executive chairman. The stock options all vested on the first anniversary of the grant date because, in the three months ended June 30, 2018, the requirement that our stock close at a price of at least $20.53 (a 25% premium above the September 29, 2017 grant-date closing stock price of $16.43) for at least 30 consecutive trading days within four years of the grant date was met; these options will expire on the fifth anniversary of the grant date. In the three months ended March 31, 2017, we granted an aggregate of 987,781 performance-based stock options under our 2008 Stock Incentive Plan to certain of our senior officers. The stock options will all vest on the third anniversary of the grant date because, in the three

months ended June 30, 2018, the requirement that our stock close at a price of at least $23.74 (a 25% premium above the March 1, 2017 grant-date closing stock price of $18.99) for at least 20 consecutive trading days within three years of the grant date was met; these options will expire on the tenth anniversary of the grant date.
 
The weighted average estimated fair value of stock options we granted in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018 was $12.50 and 2017 was $9.16 and $7.68 per share, respectively. These fair values were calculated based on each grant date, using a Monte Carlo simulation with the following assumptions:

 Nine Months Ended September 30, Three Months Ended September 30,Three Months Ended
March 31,
 2018 2017 February 27, 2019 February 28, 2018
Expected volatility 46% 46%49% 48% 46%
Expected dividend yield 0% 0% 0% 0%
Expected life 6.2 years 3.0 years6.2 years 6.2 years 6.2 years
Expected forfeiture rate 0% 0% 0% 0%
Risk-free interest rate 2.72% 1.92%2.15% 2.53% 2.72%

 
The expected volatility used for the 2019 and 2018 Monte Carlo simulationsimulations incorporates historical volatility based on an analysis of historical prices of our stock. The expected volatility reflects the historical volatility for a duration consistent with the contractualexpected life of the options; it does not consider the implied volatility from open-market exchanged options due to the limited trading activity and the transient nature of factors impacting our stock price volatility. The expected volatility used for the Monte Carlo simulation for the options granted in the three months ended September 30, 2017 incorporated historical volatility based on an analysis of historical prices of our stock. The expected volatility used for the Monte Carlo simulation for the options granted in the three months ended March 31, 2017 incorporated historical and implied share-price volatility and was based on an analysis of historical prices of our stock and open-market exchanged options. In each case, the expected volatility reflected the historical volatility for a duration consistent with the contractual life of the options. The historical share-price volatility for 2019 and 2018 excludes the movements in our stock price for the period from August 15, 2017 through November 30, 2017 due to impact that the announcement of the departure of certain board members and officers, as well as reports that we were exploring a potential sale of the company. The historical share-price volatility for 2017 excludes the movements incompany, had on our stock price on two dates (April 8, 2011 and April 11, 2011) with unusual volatility due to an unsolicited acquisition proposal. The expected life of options granted is derived from Tenet’s historical stock option exercise behavior, adjusted for the exercisable period (i.e., from the third anniversary through the tenth anniversary of the grant date).during that time. The risk-free interest rates are based on zero-coupon United States Treasury yields in effect at the date of grant consistent with the expected exercise time frames.
 
The following table summarizes information about our outstanding stock options at SeptemberJune 30, 2018:2019:
 Options Outstanding Options Exercisable Options Outstanding Options Exercisable
Range of Exercise Prices  Number of
Options
 Weighted Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
 Weighted Average
Exercise Price
 Number of
Options
 Weighted Average
Exercise Price
 Number of
Options
 Weighted Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
 Weighted Average
Exercise Price
 Number of
Options
 Weighted Average
Exercise Price
$0.00 to $4.569  90,184
 0.4 years $4.56
 90,184
 $4.56
$4.57 to $19.759 1,292,315
 7.0 years 18.18
 413,960
 16.46
$16.43 to $19.759 1,246,675
 5.7 years 18.15
 413,960
 16.46
$19.76 to $35.430 905,864
 7.7 years 21.81
 270,668
 22.94
 1,049,751
 7.1 years 23.33
 270,668
 22.94
 2,288,363
 7.0 years $19.08
 774,812
 $17.34
 2,296,426
 6.4 years $20.52
 684,628
 $19.03


Restricted Stock Units
 
The following table summarizes restricted stock unit activity during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018:2019: 
 Restricted Stock
Units
 Weighted Average Grant
Date Fair Value Per Unit
 Restricted Stock Units Weighted Average Grant
Date Fair Value Per Unit
Unvested at December 31, 2017 2,253,988
 $35.20
Unvested at December 31, 2018 1,884,130
 $32.25
Granted 734,091
 24.70
 1,235,876
 26.20
Vested (872,062) 34.03
 (817,820) 27.55
Forfeited (128,074) 36.24
 (298,680) 25.02
Unvested at September 30, 2018 1,987,943
 $31.77
Unvested at June 30, 2019 2,003,506
 $31.52

 
In the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019, we granted an aggregate of 1,235,876 restricted stock units. Of these, 243,506 will vest and be settled ratably over a three-year period from the grant date, 566,172 will vest and be settled ratably over a 27 month period from the grant date, and 318,327 will vest and be settled on the third anniversary of the grant date. In addition, in May 2019, we made an annual grant of 100,444 restricted stock units to our non-employee directors for the 2019-2020 board service year, which units vested immediately and will settle in shares of our common stock on the third anniversary of the date of the grant. We also granted 7,427 additional restricted stock units that vested and settled immediately as a result of our level of achievement with respect to a performance goal on a 2013 grant.

In the six months ended June 30, 2018, we granted 734,091an aggregate of 730,577 restricted stock units, of whichunits. Of these, 288,325 will vest and be settled ratably over a three-year period from the grant date, 339,806 will vest and be settled ratably over a two-year

period from the grant date, and 29,87026,356 will vest and be settled on the third anniversary of the grant date. In addition, in May 2018, we made an annual grant of 54,198 restricted stock units to our non-employee directors for the 2018-2019 board service year, which units vested immediately and will settle in shares of our common stock on the third anniversary of the date of the grant. Because the board of directors appointed two new members in May 2018, we made initial grants totaling 3,670 restricted stock units to these directors, as well as prorated annual grants totaling 12,154 restricted stock units. Both the initial grants and the annual grants vested immediately, however, the initial grants will not settle until the directors’ separation from the Board, while the annual grants settle on the third anniversary of the grant date. In addition, we granted 6,068 performance-based restricted stock units to certain of our senior officers; the vesting of these restricted stock units is contingent on our achievement of specified performance goals for the years 2018 to 2020. Provided the goals are achieved, the performance-based restricted stock units will vest and settle on the third anniversary of the grant date. The actual number of performance-based

restricted stock units that could vest will range from 0% to 200% of the 6,068 units granted, depending on our level of achievement with respect to the performance goals.
 
At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, there were $22$34 million of total unrecognized compensation costs related to restricted stock units. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.61.9 years.
 
Employee Retirement Plans
 
In the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, we recognized (i) service cost related to one of our frozen nonqualified defined benefit pension plans of approximately $2less than $1 million and approximately $1 million, respectively, in salaries, wages and benefits expense, and (ii) other components of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost related to our frozen qualified and nonqualified defined benefit plans of approximately $12$11 million and $20$8 million, respectively, in other non-operating expense, net, in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
 

NOTE 9.10. EQUITY

Changes in Shareholders’ Equity

The following tables show the changes in consolidated equity during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 20172018 (dollars in millions, share amounts in thousands):
 Common Stock Additional
Paid-In
Capital
 Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss
 Accumulated
Deficit
 Treasury
Stock
 Noncontrolling
Interests
 Total Equity Common Stock Additional
Paid-In
Capital
 Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss
 Accumulated
Deficit
 Treasury
Stock
 Noncontrolling
Interests
 Total Equity
 Shares
Outstanding
 Issued Par
Amount
  Shares
Outstanding
 Issued Par
Amount
 
Balances at December 31, 2017 100,972
 $7
 $4,859
 $(204) $(2,390) $(2,419) $686
 $539
Net income 
 
 
 
 99
 
 31
 130
Balances at December 31, 2018 102,537
 $7
 $4,747
 $(223) $(2,236) $(2,414) $806
 $687
Net income (loss) 
 
 
 
 (19) 
 37
 18
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (34) (34) 
 
 
 
 
 
 (37) (37)
Other comprehensive income 
 
 
 8
 
 
 
 8
 
 
 
 2
 
 
 
 2
Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interests 
 
 (37) 
 
 
 
 (37) 
 
 (5) 
 
 
 
 (5)
Purchases (sales) of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 (4) 
 
 
 (2) (6) 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 2
 
Cumulative effect of accounting change 
 
 
 (43) 43
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1
 
 
 1
Stock-based compensation expense, tax benefit and issuance of common stock 1,017
 
 15
 
 
 1
 
 16
 543
 
 8
 
 
 
 
 8
Balances at March 31, 2018 101,989
 $7
 $4,833
 $(239) $(2,248) $(2,418) $681
 $616
Net income 
 
 
 
 26
 
 42
 68
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (38) (38)
Other comprehensive loss 
 
 
 (4) 
 
 
 (4)
Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interests 
 
 (123) 
 
 
 
 (123)
Purchases (sales) of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 45
 43
Stock-based compensation expense, tax benefit and issuance of common stock 312
 
 14
 
 
 
 
 14
Balances at June 30, 2018 102,301
 $7
 $4,722
 $(243) $(2,222) $(2,418) $730
 $576
Balances at March 31, 2019 103,080
 $7
 $4,748
 $(221) $(2,254) $(2,414) $808
 $674
Net income 
 
 
 
 (9) 
 40
 31
 
 
 
 
 17
 
 47
 64
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (40) (40) 
 
 
 
 
 
 (35) (35)
Other comprehensive income 
 
 
 41
 
 
 
 41
 
 
 
 2
 
 
 
 2
Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interests 
 
 (6) 
 
 
 
 (6) 
 
 (4) 
 
 
 
 (4)
Purchases (sales) of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 3
 
 
 
 36
 39
Purchases of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 5
 5
Stock-based compensation expense, tax benefit and issuance of common stock 146
 
 14
 
 
 3
 
 17
 256
 
 11
 
 
 
 
 11
Balances at September 30, 2018 102,447
 $7
 $4,733
 $(202) $(2,231) $(2,415) $766
 $658
Balances at June 30, 2019 103,336
 $7
 $4,755
 $(219) $(2,237) $(2,414) $825
 $717


  Common Stock Additional
Paid-In
Capital
 Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss
 Accumulated
Deficit
 Treasury
Stock
 Noncontrolling
Interests
 Total Equity
  Shares
Outstanding
 Issued Par
Amount
      
Balances at December 31, 2017 100,972
 $7
 $4,859
 $(204) $(2,390) $(2,419) $686
 $539
Net income 
 
 
 
 99
 
 31
 130
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (34) (34)
Other comprehensive income 
 
 
 8
 
 
 
 8
Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interests 
 
 (37) 
 
 
 
 (37)
Sales of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 (4) 
 
 
 (2) (6)
Cumulative effect of accounting change 
 
 
 (43) 43
 
 
 
Stock-based compensation expense, tax benefit and issuance of common stock 1,017
 
 15
 
 
 1
 
 16
Balances at March 31, 2018 101,989
 $7
 $4,833
 $(239) $(2,248) $(2,418) $681
 $616
Net income 
 
 
 
 26
 
 42
 68
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (38) (38)
Other comprehensive loss 
 
 
 (4) 
 
 
 (4)
Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interests 
 
 (123) 
 
 
 
 (123)
Purchases (sales) of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 45
 43
Stock-based compensation expense, tax benefit and issuance of common stock 312
 
 14
 
 
 
 
 14
Balances at June 30, 2018 102,301
 $7
 $4,722
 $(243) $(2,222) $(2,418) $730
 $576
  Common Stock Additional
Paid-In
Capital
 Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss
 Accumulated
Deficit
 Treasury
Stock
 Noncontrolling
Interests
 Total Equity
  Shares
Outstanding
 Issued Par
Amount
      
Balances at December 31, 2016 99,686
 $7
 $4,827
 $(258) $(1,742) $(2,417) $665
 $1,082
Net income (loss) 
 
 
 
 (53) 
 36
 (17)
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (36) (36)
Other comprehensive income 
 
 
 3
 
 
 
 3
Purchases (sales) of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 4
 
 
 
 (1) 3
Cumulative effect of accounting change 
 
 
 
 56
 
 
 56
Stock-based compensation expense and issuance of common stock 735
 
 3
 
 
 
 
 3
Balances at March 31, 2017 100,421
 $7
 $4,834
 $(255) $(1,739) $(2,417) $664
 $1,094
Net income (loss) 
 
 
 
 (55) 
 35
 (20)
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (29) (29)
Other comprehensive income 
 
 
 13
 
 
 
 13
Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interests 
 
 (29) 
 
 
 
 (29)
Purchases (sales) of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 (8) 
 
 
 12
 4
Stock-based compensation expense and issuance of common stock 289
 
 22
 
 
 
 
 22
Balances at June 30, 2017 100,710
 $7
 $4,819
 $(242) $(1,794) $(2,417) $682
 $1,055
Net income (loss) 
 
 
 
 (367) 
 28
 (339)
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (28) (28)
Other comprehensive income 
 
 
 4
 
 
 
 4
Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interests 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 
 (3)
Purchases (sales) of businesses and noncontrolling interests 
 
 
 
 
 
 (11) (11)
Stock-based compensation expense and issuance of common stock 121
 
 19
 
 
 (2) 
 17
Balances at September 30, 2017 100,831
 $7
 $4,835
 $(238) $(2,161) $(2,419) $671
 $695

 
Our noncontrolling interests balances at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 20172018 were comprised of $67$116 million and $64$112 million, respectively, from our Hospital Operations and other segment, and $699$709 million and $622$694 million, respectively, from our Ambulatory Care segment. Our net income available to noncontrolling interests for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 20172018 in the table above were comprised of $6$7 million and $9$4 million, respectively, from our Hospital Operations and other segment, and $107$77 million and $90$69 million, respectively, from our Ambulatory Care segment.
 
NOTE 10.11. NET OPERATING REVENUES

Net operating revenues for our Hospital Operations and other and Ambulatory Care segments primarily consist of net patient service revenues, principally for patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid, managed care and other health plans, as well as certain uninsured patients under our Compact and other uninsured discount and charity programs. Net operating revenues for our Conifer segment primarily consist of revenues from providing revenue cycle management services to healthcare systems, as well as individual hospitals, physician practices, self-insured organizations, health plans and other entities.
        

The table below shows our sources of net operating revenues less provision for doubtful accounts and implicit price concessions from continuing operations:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Hospital Operations and other:  
  
      
  
    
Net patient service revenues from hospitals and related
outpatient facilities
                
Medicare $681
 $773
 $2,164
 $2,455
 $721
 $701
 $1,479
 $1,483
Medicaid 336
 252
 971
 806
 316
 314
 630
 635
Managed care 2,228
 2,327
 6,869
 7,211
 2,330
 2,273
 4,684
 4,641
Self-pay 33
 9
 78
 40
Uninsured 11
 8
 12
 45
Indemnity and other 156
 161
 438
 457
 169
 147
 324
 282
Total 3,434
 3,522
 10,520
 10,969
 3,547
 3,443
 7,129
 7,086
Physician practices revenues 280
 270
 825
 810
 282
 271
 552
 551
Health plans 8
 10
 14
 100
 1
 
 1
 6
Revenue from other sources 40
 64
 83
 187
 (3) 19
 7
 37
Hospital Operations and other total prior to
inter-segment eliminations
 3,762
 3,866
 11,442
 12,066
 3,827
 3,733
 7,689
 7,680
Ambulatory Care 502
 468
 1,531
 1,395
 524
 531
 1,004
 1,029
Conifer 371
 401
 1,161
 1,203
 355
 386
 704
 790
Inter-segment eliminations (146) (149) (440) (463) (146) (144) (292) (294)
Net operating revenues $4,489
 $4,586
 $13,694
 $14,201
 $4,560
 $4,506
 $9,105
 $9,205


Adjustments for prior-year cost reports and related valuation allowances, principally related to Medicare and Medicaid, increased revenues in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018 and 2017 by $11$17 million and $36$11 million, respectively. Estimated cost report settlements and valuation allowances are included in accounts receivable in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (see Note 2). We believe that we have made adequate provision for any adjustments that may result from final determination of amounts earned under all the above arrangements with Medicare and Medicaid.

The table below shows the composition of net operating revenues less provision for doubtful accounts and implicit price concessions for our Ambulatory Care segment:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net patient service revenues $471
 $434
 $1,440
 $1,305
 $496
 $500
 $947
 $969
Management fees 22
 23
 68
 67
 23
 23
 46
 46
Revenue from other sources 9
 11
 23
 23
 5
 8
 11
 14
Net operating revenues $502
 $468
 $1,531
 $1,395
 $524
 $531
 $1,004
 $1,029

The table below shows the composition of net operating revenues for our Conifer segment:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Revenue cycle services – Tenet $141
 $142
 $424
 $434
 $142
 $139
 $284
 $283
Revenue cycle services – other customers 203
 229
 655
 674
 187
 220
 367
 452
Other services – Tenet 5
 7
 16
 29
 4
 5
 8
 11
Other services – other customers 22
 23
 66
 66
 22
 22
 45
 44
Net operating revenues $371
 $401
 $1,161
 $1,203
 $355
 $386
 $704
 $790


Other services represent approximately 7%8% of Conifer’s revenue and include services such as value-based care services, consulting services and project services.other client-defined projects.
Performance Obligations

The following table includes Conifer’s revenue that is expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations that are unsatisfied, or partially unsatisfied, at the end of the reporting period. The amounts in the table primaril

yprimarily consist of revenue cycle management fixed fees, which are typically recognized ratably as the performance obligation is satisfied. The estimated revenue does not include volume or contingency based contracts, performance incentives, penalties or other variable consideration that is considered constrained. Conifer’s contract with Catholic Health Initiatives (“CHI”),Common Spirit, a minority interest owner of

Conifer Health Solutions, LLC, represents the majority of the fixed feefixed-fee revenue related to remaining performance obligations. Conifer’s contract term with CHICommon Spirit ends in 2032.
    Three Months
Ending
 Years Ending Later Years
    December 31, 
  Total 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 
Performance obligations $8,032
 $161
 $653
 $653
 $604
 $578
 $5,383
    Six Months
Ending
 Years Ending Later Years
    December 31, 
  Total 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 
Performance obligations $7,587
 $298
 $597
 $594
 $594
 $594
 $4,910


NOTE 11.12. PROPERTY AND PROFESSIONAL AND GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
 
Property Insurance
 
We have property, business interruption and related insurance coverage to mitigate the financial impact of catastrophic events or perils that is subject to deductible provisions based on the terms of the policies. These policies are on an occurrence basis.

For the policy period April 1, 20182019 through March 31, 2019,2020, we have coverage totaling $850 million per occurrence, after deductibles and exclusions, with annual aggregate sub-limits of $100 million for floods, $200 million for earthquakes and a per-occurrence sub-limit of $200 million for named windstorms with no annual aggregate. With respect to fires and other perils, excluding floods, earthquakes and named windstorms, the total $850 million limit of coverage per occurrence applies. Deductibles are 5% of insured values up to a maximum of $25$40 million for California earthquakes, $25 million for floods and wind-related claims,named windstorms, and 2% of insured values for New Madrid fault earthquakes, with a maximum per claim deductible of $25 million. Floods and certain other covered losses, including fires and other perils, have a minimum deductible of $1 million.
 
Professional and General Liability Reserves
 
We are self-insured for the majority of our professional and general liability claims and purchase insurance from third-parties to cover catastrophic claims. At SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017,2018, the aggregate current and long-term professional and general liability reserves in ourthe accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets were approximately $857$897 million and $854$882 million, respectively. These reserves include the reserves recorded by our captive insurance subsidiaries and our self-insured retention reserves recorded based on modeled estimates for the portion of our professional and general liability risks, including incurred but not reported claims, for which we do not have insurance coverage. We estimated the reserves for losses and related expenses using expected loss-reporting patterns discounted to their present value under a risk-free rate approach using a Federal Reserve seven-year maturity rate of 3.01%1.87% at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2.33%2.59% at December 31, 2017.2018.
 
If the aggregate limit of any of our professional and general liability policies is exhausted, in whole or in part, it could deplete or reduce the limits available to pay any other material claims applicable to that policy period.
 
Included in other operating expenses, net, in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations is malpractice expense of $267$205 million and $225$163 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively.
 
NOTE 12.13. CLAIMS AND LAWSUITS
 
We operate in a highly regulated and litigious industry. Healthcare companies are subject to numerous investigations by various governmental agencies. Further, private parties have the right to bring qui tam or “whistleblower” lawsuits against companies that allegedly submit false claims for payments to, or improperly retain overpayments from, the government and, in some states, private payers. We and our subsidiaries have received inquiries in recent years from government agencies, and we may receive similar inquiries in future periods. We are also subject to class action lawsuits, employment-related claims and other legal actions in the ordinary course of business. Some of these actions may involve large demands, as well as substantial defense costs. We cannot predict the outcome of current or future legal actions against us or the effect that judgments or settlements in such matters may have on us.

We are also subject to a non-prosecution agreement (“NPA”), as described in our Annual Report and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018.Report. If we fail to comply with this agreement, we could be subject to criminal prosecution, substantial penalties and exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs, any of which could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.


We record accruals for estimated losses relating to claims and lawsuits when available information indicates that a loss is probable and we can reasonably estimate the amount of the loss or a range of loss. Significant judgment is required in both

the determination of the probability of a loss and the determination as to whether a loss is reasonably estimable. These determinations are updated at least quarterly and are adjusted to reflect the effects of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel and technical experts, and other information and events pertaining to a particular matter.matter, but are subject to significant uncertainty regarding numerous factors that could affect the ultimate loss levels. If a loss on a material matter is reasonably possible and estimable, we disclose an estimate of the loss or a range of loss. In cases where we have not disclosed an estimate, we have concluded that the loss is either not reasonably possible or the loss, or a range of loss, is not reasonably estimable, based on available information. Given the inherent uncertainties involved in these matters, especially those involving governmental agencies, and the indeterminate damages sought in some of these matters, there is significant uncertainty as to the ultimate liability we may incur from these matters, and an adverse outcome in one or more of these matters could be material to our results of operations or cash flows for any particular reporting period.

Shareholder Derivative Litigation

In January 2017, the Dallas County District Court consolidated two previously disclosed shareholder derivative lawsuits filed on behalf of the Company by purported shareholders of the Company’s common stock on behalf of the Company against current and former officers and directors into a single matter captioned In re Tenet Healthcare Corporation Shareholder Derivative Litigation. The plaintiffs filed a consolidated shareholder derivative petition in February 2017. (A separate shareholder derivative lawsuit, captioned Horwitz, derivatively on behalf of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, was filed in January 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas; however, in January 2018, the plaintiff in the Horwitz matter voluntarily dismissed his case.) The consolidated shareholder derivative petition allegesalleged that false or misleading statements or omissions concerning the Company’s financial performance and compliance policies, specifically with respect to the previously disclosed civil qui tam litigation and parallel criminal investigation of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries (together, the “Clinica de la Mama matters”), caused the price of the Company’s common stock to be artificially inflated. In addition, the plaintiffs allegealleged that the defendants violated GAAP by failing to disclose an estimate of the possible loss or a range of loss related to the Clinica de la Mama matters. The plaintiffs claimclaimed that they did not make demand on the Company’s board of directors to bring the lawsuit because such a demand would have been futile. In May 2018, the judge in the consolidated shareholder derivative litigation entered an order lifting the previous year-long stay of the matter and, onin July 6, 2018, the defendants filed pleadings seeking dismissal of the lawsuit. OnIn October 8, 2018, the judge granted defendants’ motion to dismiss, but also agreed to give the plaintiffs 30 days to replead their complaint. If necessary,In January 2019, the court issued a final judgment and order of dismissal after the plaintiffs elected not to replead. In February 2019, the plaintiffs filed an appeal of the court’s ruling that dismissal was appropriate because the plaintiffs failed to adequately plead that a pre-suit demand on the Company’s board of directors, a precondition to their action, should be excused as futile. The defendants intend to continue to vigorously contest the plaintiffs’ allegations in this matter.

Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Registered Nurses in San Antonio
 
In Maderazo, et al. v. VHS San Antonio Partners, L.P. d/b/a Baptist Health Systems, et al., filed in June 2006 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, a purported class of registered nurses employed by three unaffiliated San Antonio-area hospital systems allegealleged those hospital systems, including our Baptist Health System, and other unidentified San Antonio regional hospitals violated Section §1 of the federal Sherman Act by conspiring to depress nurses’ compensation and exchanging compensation-related information among themselves in a manner that reduced competition and suppressed the wages paid to such nurses. The suit seekssought unspecified damages (subject to trebling under federal law), interest, costs and attorneys’ fees. In January 2019, the district court issued an opinion denying the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. The plaintiffs’ subsequent appeal of the district court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit was denied on March 26, 2019. On April 30, 2019, the appellate court denied the plaintiffs’ request for further review of the district court’s ruling. The district court has ordered the plaintiffs to advise the court by August 6, 2019 if they will be dismissing the action or proceeding with the individually named plaintiffs. If necessary, we will continue to vigorously defend against the plaintiffs’ allegations.

Government Investigation of Detroit Medical Center

Detroit Medical Center (“DMC”) is subject to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) for potential violations of the Stark law, the Medicare and Medicaid anti-kickback and anti-fraud and abuse amendments codified under Section 1128B(b) of the Social Security Act (the “Anti-kickback Statute”), and the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) related to DMC’s employment of nurse practitioners and physician assistants (“Mid-Level Practitioners”) from 2006 through 2017. As previously disclosed, a media report was published in August 2017 alleging that 14 Mid-Level Practitioners were terminated by DMC earlier in 2017 due to compliance concerns. We are cooperating with the investigation and continue to produce documents on a schedule agreed upon with the DOJ. Because the government’s review is in its preliminary stages, we are unable to determine the potential exposure, if any, at this time.


Oklahoma Surgical Hospital Qui Tam Action

In May 2016, a relator filed a qui tam lawsuit under seal in the Western District of Oklahoma against, among other parties, (i) Oklahoma Center for Orthopaedic & Multispecialty Surgery (“OCOM”), a surgical hospital jointly owned by USPI, a healthcare system partner and physicians, (ii) Southwest Orthopaedic Specialists, an independent physician practice group, (iii) Tenet, and (iv) other related entities and individuals. The complaint alleges various violations of the FCA, the Anti-kickback Statute, the Stark law and the Oklahoma Medicaid False Claims Act. In May 2018, Tenet and its affiliates learned that they were parties to the suit when the court unsealed the complaint and the DOJ declined to intervene with respect to the issues involving Tenet, USPI, OCOM and individually named employees. In June 2018, the relator filed an amended complaint more fully describing the claims and adding additional defendants. Tenet, USPI, OCOM and individually named employees filed motions to dismiss the case wasin October 2018, but the court has not yet ruled on the motions. The litigation is currently stayed from 2008 through mid-2015.until October 2019.

Pursuant to the obligations under our NPA, we reported the unsealed qui tam action to the DOJ. At this time, we are awaitinginvestigating the court’s ruling on class certificationclaims contained in the amended complaint and will continuecooperating fully with the DOJ. We anticipate meeting with the DOJ and the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the three months ending September 30, 2019 to vigorously defend ourselves against the plaintiffs’ allegations. It remains impossiblebegin discussing potential resolution of these matters. Because these proceedings and investigations remain at this timea preliminary stage, we are unable to predict the outcome of these proceedings with any certainty; however, we believe thatcertainty the ultimate resolution of this matter will not have a material effectterms, or potential impact on our business or financial condition, or results of operations.any potential resolution of these matters.

Ordinary CourseOther Matters

On July 1, 2019, certain of the entities that purchased the operations of Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia from us commenced Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. As previously disclosed in our Form 8-K filed September 1, 2017, the purchasers assumed our funding obligations under the Pension Fund for Hospital and Health Care Employees of Philadelphia and Vicinity (the “Fund”), a pension plan related to the operations at Hahnemann University Hospital and, pursuant to rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, under certain circumstances we could become liable for withdrawal liability in the event a withdrawal is triggered with respect to the Fund. In July 2019, the Fund notified us of a withdrawal liability assessment of approximately $63 million. We dispute and intend to contest this assessment in accordance with applicable law.

We are also subject to other claims and lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of business, including potential claims related to, among other things, the care and treatment provided at our hospitals and outpatient facilities, the application of various federal and state labor laws, tax audits and other matters. Although the results of these claims and lawsuits cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the ultimate resolution of these ordinary course claims and lawsuits will not have a material effect on our business or financial condition.

New claims or inquiries may be initiated against us from time to time. These matters could (1) require us to pay substantial damages or amounts in judgments or settlements, which, individually or in the aggregate, could exceed amounts, if any, that may be recovered under our insurance policies where coverage applies and is available, (2) cause us to incur substantial expenses, (3) require significant time and attention from our management, and (4) cause us to close or sell hospitals or otherwise modify the way we conduct business.


The table below presents reconciliations of the beginning and ending liability balances in connection with legal settlements and related costs recorded in continuing operations during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017: 2018. No amounts were recorded in discontinued operations in those periods.
  
Balances at
Beginning
of Period
 
Litigation and
Investigation
Costs
 
Cash
Payments
 
Balances at
End of
Period
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018        
Continuing operations $12
 $28
 $(24) $16
Discontinued operations 
 
 
 
  $12
 $28
 $(24) $16
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017        
Continuing operations $12
 $12
 $(14) $10
Discontinued operations 
 
 
 
  $12
 $12
 $(14) $10
  
Balances at
Beginning
of Period
 
Litigation and
Investigation
Costs
 
Cash
Payments
 
Balances at
End of
Period
         
Six Months Ended June 30, 2019 $8
 $31
 $(24) $15
Six Months Ended June 30, 2018 $12
 $19
 $(11) $20

 
For the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, we recorded costs of $28$31 million and $12$19 million, respectively, in continuing operations in connection with significant legal proceedings and governmental investigations.


NOTE 13.14. REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS IN EQUITY OF CONSOLIDATED SUBSIDIARIES
As previously disclosed, as part of the acquisition of United Surgical Partners International in 2015, we entered into a put/call agreement (the “Put/Call Agreement”) with respect to the equity interests in USPI held by our joint venture partners. In January 2016, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (“WCAS”), on behalf of our joint venture partners, delivered a put notice for the minimum number of shares they were required to put to us in 2016 according to the Put/Call Agreement. In April 2016, we paid approximately $127 million to purchase those shares, which increased our ownership interest in USPI to approximately 56.3%. On May 1, 2017, we amended and restated the Put/Call Agreement to provide for, among other things, the acceleration of our acquisition of certain shares of USPI. On July 3, 2017, we paid approximately $716 million for the purchase of 23.7% of USPI, which increased our ownership interest to 80.0%, as well as the final adjustment to the 2016 purchase price. In April 2018, we reached an agreement with WCAS on behalf of our joint venture partners to provide for the acceleration of our acquisition of all the remaining shares they owned in USPI and the settlement of adjustments to the price we paid for the shares we purchased from our joint venture partners in 2017. Under the terms of the agreement, we paid WCAS approximately $630 million to buy our joint venture partners’ 15% ownership interest in USPI and to settle the adjustment to the price we paid in 2017 based on actual 2017 financial results. The agreement also satisfied any obligations under the previous amended and restated Put/Call Agreement with WCAS, including any future adjustments to the price for any future financial results of USPI. At September 30, 2018, we owned 95.0% of USPI, as the agreement with WCAS did not have any impact on the separate put/call agreement with Baylor University Medical Center for the 5% ownership interest it holds in USPI. Due to the accelerations of our acquisitions of shares of USPI, we recorded the differences between the carrying values and the purchase prices as accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interest and additional paid-in-capital in the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017.
 
The following table shows the changes in redeemable noncontrolling interests in equity of consolidated subsidiaries during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017:2018:
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2019 2018
Balances at beginning of period
 $1,866
 $2,393
 $1,420
 $1,866
Net income 135
 155
 95
 101
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests (107) (85) (72) (70)
Accretion of redeemable noncontrolling interests 166
 32
 9
 160
Purchases and sales of businesses and noncontrolling interests, net (616) (679) 10
 (628)
Balances at end of period
 $1,444
 $1,816
 $1,462
 $1,429
 

The following tables show the composition by segment of our redeemable noncontrolling interests balances at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017,2018, as well as our net income available to redeemable noncontrolling interests for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017:2018:
 September 30, 2018 December 31, 2017 June 30, 2019 December 31, 2018
Hospital Operations and other $487
 $519
 $408
 $431
Ambulatory Care 695
 1,137
 737
 713
Conifer 262
 210
 317
 276
Redeemable noncontrolling interests $1,444
 $1,866
 $1,462
 $1,420
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2019 2018
Hospital Operations and other $(17) $14
 $(15) $(6)
Ambulatory Care 102
 103
 69
 70
Conifer 50
 38
 41
 37
Net income available to redeemable noncontrolling interests $135
 $155
 $95
 $101


NOTE 14.15. INCOME TAXES
 
During the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we recorded income tax expense of $6$30 million in continuing operations on pre-tax income of $71$140 million compared to an income tax benefitexpense of $60$44 million on a pre-tax lossincome of $348$150 million during the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. During the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we recorded income tax expense of $120$47 million in continuing operations on pre-tax income of $481$214 million compared to an income tax benefitexpense of $105$114 million on a pre-tax lossincome of $325$410 million during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. Our provision for income taxes during interim reporting periods is calculated by applying an estimate of the annual effective tax rate for the full year to “ordinary” income or loss (pre-tax income or loss excluding unusual or infrequently occurring discrete items) for the reporting period. In calculating “ordinary” income, non-taxable income or loss attributable to non-controllingnoncontrolling interests has been deducted from pre-tax income or loss in the determination of the annualized effective tax rate used to calculate income taxes for the quarter. The reconciliation between the amount of recorded income tax expense (benefit) and the amount calculated at the statutory federal tax rate is shown in the following table:
  Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
  2018 2017 2018 2017
Tax expense at statutory federal rate of 21% (35% for 2017) $15
 $(122) $101
 $(114)
State income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit 3
 8
 20
 13
Tax benefit available to noncontrolling interests (15) (25) (49) (79)
Nondeductible goodwill 
 104
 7
 104
Tax benefit related to loss on Aspen sale (18) 
 (18) 
Change in tax contingency reserves, including interest 
 (1) 
 (3)
Stock-based compensation 
 
 4
 9
Change in valuation allowance-interest expense limitation 24
 
 54
 
Change in indefinite reinvestment assertion 
 (30) 
 (30)
Change in valuation allowance-other 
 (5) 
 (5)
Other items (3) 11
 1
 
Income tax expense (benefit) $6
 $(60) $120
 $(105)
  Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
  2019 2018 2019 2018
Tax expense at statutory federal rate of 21% $29
 $31
 $45
 $86
State income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit 6
 7
 9
 17
Tax attributable to noncontrolling interests (19) (16) (36) (34)
Nondeductible goodwill 
 2
 
 7
Nontaxable gains 
 
 (1) 
Stock-based compensation 1
 
 
 4
Change in valuation allowance-interest expense limitation 11
 18
 35
 30
Other items 2
 2
 (5) 4
Income tax expense $30
 $44
 $47
 $114


Following the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) in December 2017, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”), which provides guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Act. In December 2017, we recorded tax expense of $252 million as a provisional estimate of the impact of the Tax Act, including the decrease in the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. During the quarter ended September 30, 2018, we updated the provisional estimate based on 2017 federal income tax filings that were nearing completion and recorded a tax benefit of $2 million. We have not completed our accounting for income tax effects of the Tax Act because we are still finalizing the impact of all 2017 tax return filings, and we continue to evaluate guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service. The accounting will be completed within the one year measurement period prescribed by SAB 118.


During the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, there were no adjustments to our estimated liabilities for uncertain tax positions. The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 was $46$45 million, of which $44$43 million, if recognized, would impact our effective tax rate and income tax expense (benefit) from continuing operations. 

 
Our practice is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense in our consolidated statements of operations. Total accrued interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 were $4 million, all of which related to continuing operations.
 
At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, approximately $4$10 million of unrecognized federal and state tax benefits, as well as reserves for interest and penalties, may decrease in the next 12 months as a result of the settlement of audits, the filing of amended tax returns or the expiration of statutes of limitations.
 
NOTE 15.16. EARNINGS (LOSS) PER COMMON SHARE
 
The following table is a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of our basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share calculations for our continuing operations for three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017.2018. Net income available (loss attributable) to our common shareholders is expressed in millions and weighted average shares are expressed in thousands.
 Net Income Available (Loss Attributable)
to Common
Shareholders
(Numerator)
 Weighted
Average Shares
(Denominator)
 Per-Share
Amount
 Net Income Available (Loss Attributable)
to Common
Shareholders
(Numerator)
 Weighted
Average Shares
(Denominator)
 Per-Share
Amount
Three Months Ended September 30, 2018  
  
  
Three Months Ended June 30, 2019  
  
  
Net income available to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
for basic earnings per share
 $15
 103,198
 $0.15
Effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock units and deferred compensation units 
 1,431
 (0.01)
Net income available to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders for diluted earnings per share $15
 104,629
 $0.14
      
Three Months Ended June 30, 2018  
  
  
Net income available to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
for basic earnings per share
 $24
 102,147
 $0.23
Effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock units and deferred compensation units 
 2,030
 
Net income available to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders for diluted earnings per share $24
 104,177
 $0.23
      
Six Months Ended June 30, 2019  
  
  
Net loss attributable to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
for basic loss per share
 $(9) 102,402
 $(0.09) $(12) 102,993
 $(0.12)
Effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock units and deferred compensation units 
 
 
 
 
 
Net loss attributable to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders for diluted loss per share $(9) 102,402
 $(0.09) $(12) 102,993
 $(0.12)
            
Three Months Ended September 30, 2017  
  
  
Net loss attributable to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
for basic loss per share
 $(366) 100,812
 $(3.63)
Effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock units and deferred compensation units 
 
 
Net loss attributable to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders for diluted loss per share $(366) 100,812
 $(3.63)
      
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018  
  
  
Six Months Ended June 30, 2018  
  
  
Net income available to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
for basic earnings per share
 $113
 101,980
 $1.11
 $122
 101,770
 $1.20
Effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock units and deferred compensation units 
 1,822
 (0.02) 
 1,646
 (0.02)
Net income available to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders for diluted earnings per share $113
 103,802
 $1.09
 $122
 103,416
 $1.18
      
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017  
  
  
Net loss attributable to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders
for basic loss per share
 $(474) 100,475
 $(4.72)
Effect of dilutive stock options, restricted stock units and deferred compensation units 
 
 
Net loss attributable to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders for diluted loss per share $(474) 100,475
 $(4.72)


All potentially dilutive securities were excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per share for the threesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018 and the three and nine months ended September 30, 20172019 because we did not report income from continuing operations available to common shareholders in those periods.that period. In circumstances where we do not have income from continuing operations available to common shareholders, the effect of stock options and other potentially dilutive securities is anti-dilutive, that is, a loss from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders has the effect of making the diluted loss per share less than the basic loss per share. Had we generated income

from continuing operations available to common

shareholders in the threesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018 and the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017,2019, the effect (in thousands) of employee stock options, restricted stock units and deferred compensation units on the diluted shares calculation would have been an increase in shares of 2,173 and 711 for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and 747 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.
1,592.

NOTE 16.17. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
  
Our non-financial assets and liabilities not permitted or required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis typically relate to long-lived assets held and used, long-lived assets held for sale and goodwill. We are required to provide additional disclosures about fair value measurements as part of our financial statements for each major category of assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis. The following tables presenttable presents this information and indicateindicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques we utilized to determine such fair values. In general, fair values determined by Level 1 inputs utilize quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities, which generally are not applicable to non-financial assets and liabilities. Fair values determined by Level 2 inputs utilize data points that are observable, such as definitive sales agreements, appraisals or established market values of comparable assets. Fair values determined by Level 3 inputs are unobservable data points for the asset or liability and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability, such as internal estimates of future cash flows.
  September 30, 2018 Quoted Prices
in Active
Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
 Significant Other
Observable Inputs
(Level 2)
 Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
Long-lived assets held for sale $45
 $
 $45
 $
  $45
 $
 $45
 $


 December 31, 2017 Quoted Prices
in Active
Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
 Significant Other
Observable Inputs
(Level 2)
 Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
 December 31, 2018 Quoted Prices
in Active
Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
 Significant Other
Observable Inputs
(Level 2)
 Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
Long-lived assets held for sale $456
 $
 $456
 $
 $39
 $
 $39
 $
Other than temporarily impaired equity method investments 113
 
 113
 
 $569
 $
 $569
 $
Long-lived assets held and used 130
 
 130
 


As described in Note 5, in the nine months ended September 30, 2018, we recorded $29 million of impairment charges, consisting primarily of $17 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for certain of our Chicago-area facilities, $9 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for Aspen and $3 million of other impairment charges.

The fair value of our long-term debt (except for borrowings under the Credit Agreement) is based on quoted market prices (Level 1). The inputs used to establish the fair value of the borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement are considered to be Level 2 inputs, which include inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly. At SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017,2018, the estimated fair value of our long-term debt was approximately 100.9%102.1% and 100.2%97.3%, respectively, of the carrying value of the debt.
 

NOTE 17.18. ACQUISITIONS
 
Preliminary purchase price allocations (representing the fair value of the consideration conveyed) for all acquisitions made during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 20172018 are as follows: 
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2019 2018
Current assets $5
 $4
 $6
 $3
Property and equipment 12
 5
 8
 3
Other intangible assets 7
 5
 3
 3
Goodwill 211
 65
 18
 132
Other long-term assets 1
 1
Previously held equity method investment (19) 
Other long-term assets, including previously held equity method investments 5
 1
Current liabilities 1
 (4) (3) (2)
Long-term liabilities (16) (1) (6) (1)
Redeemable noncontrolling interests in equity of consolidated subsidiaries (18) (18) (9) (8)
Noncontrolling interests (85) (13) (4) (42)
Cash paid, net of cash acquired (97) (41) (13) (89)
Gains on consolidations $2
 $3
 $5
 $


The goodwill generated from these transactions, the majority of which will not be deductible for income tax purposes, can be attributed to the benefits that we expect to realize from operating efficiencies and growth strategies. The goodwill total of $211$18 million from acquisitions completed during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 was recorded in our Ambulatory Care segment. Approximately $8$3 million and $5 million in transaction costs related to prospective and closed acquisitions were expensed during the ninesix month periods ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively, and are included in impairment and restructuring charges, and acquisition-related costs in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
 
We are required to allocate the purchase prices of acquired businesses to assets acquired or liabilities assumed and, if applicable, noncontrolling interests based on their fair values. The excess of the purchase price allocation over those fair values is recorded as goodwill. We are in process of finalizing the purchase price allocations, including valuations of the acquired

property and equipment, other intangible assets and noncontrolling interests for some of our 20182019 and 20172018 acquisitions; therefore, those purchase price allocations are subject to adjustment once the valuations are completed.
 
During the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, we recognized gains totaling $2$5 million and $3less than $1 million, respectively, associated with stepping up our ownership interests in previously held equity method investments, which we began consolidating after we acquired controlling interests.
 
NOTE 18.19. SEGMENT INFORMATION
 
Our business consists of our Hospital Operations and other segment, our Ambulatory Care segment and our Conifer segment. The factors for determining the reportable segments include the manner in which management evaluates operating performance combined with the nature of the individual business activities.
 
Our Hospital Operations and other segment is comprised of our acute care and specialty hospitals, ancillary outpatient facilities, urgent care centers, microhospitals and physician practices. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, our subsidiaries operated 6865 hospitals (certain of which are classified as held for sale, as described in Note 4), serving primarily urban and suburban communities in 10nine states.
 
Our Ambulatory Care segment is comprised of the operations of USPI and included nine Aspen facilities in the United Kingdom until their divestiture effective August 17, 2018. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, USPI had interests in 255260 ambulatory surgery centers, 3638 urgent care centers operated under the CareSpot brand, 23 imaging centers and 2123 surgical hospitals in 27 states. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we owned 95.0% of USPI.
 
Our Conifer segment provides healthcare business process services in the areas of hospital and physician revenue cycle management and value-based care solutions to healthcare systems, as well as individual hospitals, physician practices, self-insured organizations, health plans and other entities. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, Conifer provided services to approximately 780680 Tenet and non-Tenet hospitals and other clients nationwide. In 2012, we entered into agreements documenting the terms and conditions of various services Conifer provides to Tenet hospitals, as well as certain administrative services our Hospital

Operations and other segment provides to Conifer. The pricing terms for the services provided by each party to the other under these contracts were based on estimated third-party pricing terms in effect at the time the agreements were signed. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we owned 76.2% of Conifer Health Solutions, LLC, which is the principal subsidiary of Conifer Holdings, Inc.
 
The following tables include amounts for each of our reportable segments and the reconciling items necessary to agree to amounts reported in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations:Operations, as applicable:
 
September 30, 
2018
 December 31, 2017 June 30, 2019 December 31, 2018
Assets:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $15,556
 $16,466
 $16,072
 $15,684
Ambulatory Care 5,640
 5,822
 6,057
 5,711
Conifer 1,069
 1,097
 1,078
 1,014
Total
 $22,265
 $23,385
 $23,207
 $22,409

  Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
  2018 2017 2018 2017
Capital expenditures:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $115
 $122
 $343
 $441
Ambulatory Care 18
 16
 46
 37
Conifer 3
 6
 15
 14
Total 
 $136
 $144
 $404
 $492
         
Net operating revenues:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other total prior to inter-segment eliminations(1)
 $3,762
 $3,866
 $11,442
 $12,066
Ambulatory Care 502
 468
 1,531
 1,395
Conifer  
  
    
Tenet 146
 149
 440
 463
Other customers 225
 252
 721
 740
Total Conifer 371
 401
 1,161
 1,203
Inter-segment eliminations (146) (149) (440) (463)
Total 
 $4,489
 $4,586
 $13,694
 $14,201
         
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $2
 $4
 $6
 $4
Ambulatory Care 31
 34
 91
 91
Total 
 $33
 $38
 $97
 $95
         
Adjusted EBITDA(2):
  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other(2)
 $312
 $269
 $1,059
 $924
Ambulatory Care 184
 159
 547
 476
Conifer 81
 79
 270
 204
Total 
 $577
 $507
 $1,876
 $1,604
         
Depreciation and amortization:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $175
 $185
 $514
 $560
Ambulatory Care 17
 22
 51
 66
Conifer 12
 12
 37
 36
Total 
 $204
 $219
 $602
 $662


  Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
  2018 2017 2018 2017
Adjusted EBITDA(2)
 $577
 $507
 $1,876
 $1,604
Income (loss) from divested and closed businesses
(i.e., the Company’s health plan businesses)
 9
 (6) 9
 (41)
Depreciation and amortization (204) (219) (602) (662)
Impairment and restructuring charges, and acquisition-related costs (46) (329) (123) (403)
Litigation and investigation costs (9) (6) (28) (12)
Interest expense (249) (257) (758) (775)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt 
 (138) (2) (164)
Other non-operating expense, net 
 (4) (2) (14)
Net gains on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities (7) 104
 111
 142
Income (loss) from continuing operations, before income taxes $71
 $(348) $481
 $(325)
  Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
  2019 2018 2019 2018
Capital expenditures:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $118
 $108
 $288
 $228
Ambulatory Care 21
 13
 41
 28
Conifer 5
 4
 7
 12
Total 
 $144
 $125
 $336
 $268
         
Net operating revenues:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other total prior to inter-segment eliminations(1)
 $3,827
 $3,733
 $7,689
 $7,680
Ambulatory Care 524
 531
 1,004
 1,029
Conifer  
  
    
Tenet 146
 144
 292
 294
Other customers 209
 242
 412
 496
Total Conifer revenues 355
 386
 704
 790
Inter-segment eliminations (146) (144) (292) (294)
Total 
 $4,560
 $4,506
 $9,105
 $9,205
         
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $8
 $6
 $11
 $4
Ambulatory Care 34
 33
 65
 60
Total 
 $42
 $39
 $76
 $64
         
Adjusted EBITDA(2):
  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other(2)
 $347
 $345
 $684
 $747
Ambulatory Care 207
 198
 384
 363
Conifer 103
 91
 202
 189
Total 
 $657
 $634
 $1,270
 $1,299
         
Depreciation and amortization:  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $185
 $164
 $364
 $339
Ambulatory Care 18
 17
 36
 34
Conifer 11
 13
 22
 25
Total 
 $214
 $194
 $422
 $398

  Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
  2019 2018 2019 2018
Adjusted EBITDA(2)
 $657
 $634
 $1,270
 $1,299
Income (loss) from divested and closed businesses
(i.e., the Company’s health plan businesses)
 
 1
 (1) 
Depreciation and amortization (214) (194) (422) (398)
Impairment and restructuring charges, and acquisition-related costs (36) (30) (55) (77)
Litigation and investigation costs (18) (13) (31) (19)
Interest expense (247) (254) (498) (509)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt 
 (1) (47) (2)
Other non-operating expense, net (1) (1) 
 (2)
Net gains (losses) on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities (1) 8
 (2) 118
Income from continuing operations, before income taxes $140
 $150
 $214
 $410

(1)Hospital Operations and other revenues includes health plan revenues of $8approximately $1 million for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, and less than $1 million and $14$6 million for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018, respectively, and $10 million and $100 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively.
(2)Hospital Operations and other Adjusted EBITDA excludes health plan EBITDA of $9 million for both of the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018, and $(6)less than $1 million and $(41)$(1) million for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2019, respectively, and $1 million and less than $1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively.

NOTE 19. RECENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)” (“ASU 2016-02”), which affects any entity that enters into a lease (as that term is defined in ASU 2016-02), with some specified scope exceptions. The main difference between the guidance in ASU 2016-02 and current GAAP is the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under current GAAP. Recognition of these assets and liabilities will have a material impact to our consolidated balance sheets upon adoption. Under ASU 2016-02, lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach, which includes a number of optional practical expedients. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11 “Leases (Topic 842) Targeted Improvements,” which allows lessees and lessors to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the period of adoption without modifying the comparative period financial statements. This guidance will be effective for us beginning in 2019, and we intend to use the retrospective method as of the period of adoption rather than the earliest period presented. Our implementation plan is substantially complete. We are now finalizing the configuration and testing of our lease accounting technology system, gathering new lease contracts and abstracting key financial data, and finalizing design of revisions needed to our processes and internal controls. We are also continuing to evaluate accounting policy options under the standard and the impact of implementing this guidance on our consolidated financial statements, but we do expect to elect the three packaged transition practical expedients under ASC 842-10-65-1(f) and the practical expedient that allows lessees to choose to not separate lease and non-lease components by class of underlying asset.


ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
 
INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
 
The purpose of this section, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”), is to provide a narrative explanation of our financial statements that enables investors to better understand our business, to enhance our overall financial disclosures, to provide the context within which our financial information may be analyzed, and to provide information about the quality of, and potential variability of, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Our Hospital Operations and other segment is comprised of our acute care and specialty hospitals, ancillary outpatient facilities, urgent care centers, microhospitals and physician practices. As described in Note 4 to the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, certain of our facilities were classified as held for sale at September 30, 2018. Our Ambulatory Care segment is comprised of the operations of our USPI Holding Company, Inc. (“USPI”), in which we own a majority95% interest, and included nine European Surgical Partners Limited (“Aspen”) facilities until their divestiture effective August 17, 2018. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, USPI had interests in 255260 ambulatory surgery centers, 3638 urgent care centers, 23 imaging centers and 2123 surgical hospitals in 27 states. Our Conifer segment provides healthcare business process services in the areas of hospital and physician revenue cycle management and value-based care solutions to healthcare systems, as well as individual hospitals, physician practices, self-insured organizations, health plans and other entities, through our Conifer Holdings, Inc. (“Conifer”) subsidiary. Nearly all of the services comprising the operations of our Conifer segment are provided directly by Conifer Health Solutions, LLC, in which we owned 76.2% as of June 30, 2019, or by one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. MD&A, which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, includes the following sections:

Management Overview
Forward-Looking Statements
Sources of Revenue for Our Hospital Operations and Other Segment
Results of Operations
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Critical Accounting Estimates
 
Unless otherwise indicated, all financial and statistical information included in MD&A relates to our continuing operations, with dollar amounts expressed in millions (except per adjusted patient admission and per adjusted patient day and per case amounts). Continuing operations information includes the results of (i) our same 6865 hospitals operated throughout the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018, and 2017, (ii) three Houston-area hospitals, which we divested effective August 1, 2017, (iii) Abrazo Maryvale Campus, which we closed in December 2017, (iv) two Philadelphia-area hospitals, which we divested effective January 11, 2018, (v)(iii) MacNeal Hospital, which we divested effective March 1, 2018, and (vi)(iv) Des Peres Hospital, which we divested effective May 1, 2018. The results of our Aspen2018, (v) three Chicago-area hospitals, which we divested effective January 28, 2019, and (vi) Aspen's nine facilities, are included untilwhich we divested August 17, 2018, the date of divestiture.2018. Continuing operations information excludes the results of our hospitals and other businesses that have been classified as discontinued operations for accounting purposes. In addition, although we operated four North Texas hospitals throughout the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and from January 1 through February 28, 2018, we did not consolidate the results of operations of these hospitals because we divested a controlling interest in them effective January 1, 2016.
 
MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

DivestitureSpin-off of Our Aspen Subsidiary—ConiferOn August 17, 2018,—As further described under “Trends and Strategies” below, on July 24, 2019, we completedannounced our intention to pursue a tax-free spin-off of Conifer as a separate, independent, publicly traded company.

Birmingham Joint Venture Put Notice—In May 2019, Baptist Health System, Inc., our partner in a joint venture that owns and operates a healthcare network serving Birmingham and central Alabama, delivered a put notice for 25% of the previously announced sale of HCN European Surgery Center Holdings Limited, which owns Aspen, for net pre-tax cash proceeds of approximately $15 million. Aspen’s assetsequity it holds in the United Kingdom include nine private hospitals and clinics. The sale is subjectjoint venture. We expect to customary post-closingpay a mutually agreed-upon fair value to purchase price adjustments. With this transaction, we no longer operate healthcare facilities outside ofthese units, which will increase our ownership interest in the United States.joint venture from 60% to 70%.

    

TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

The healthcare industry, in general, and the acute care hospital business, in particular, have been experiencing significant regulatory uncertainty based, in large part, on administrative, legislative and administrativejudicial efforts to significantly modify or repeal and potentially replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (“Affordable Care Act” or “ACA”). Although itIt is difficult to predict the full impact of this regulatory uncertainty on our future revenues and operations,operations. In addition, we believe that our strategies will help us to address the followingseveral key trends are shaping the demand for healthcare services: (1) consumers, employers and insurers are actively seeking lower-cost solutions and better value as they focus more on healthcare spending; (2) patient volumes are shifting from inpatient to outpatient settings due to technological advancements and demand for care that is more convenient, affordable and accessible; (3) the industry is migrating to value-based payment models with governmentgrowing aging population requires greater chronic disease management and private payers shifting risk to providers;higher-acuity treatment; and (4) consolidation continues across the entire healthcare sector.

Driving Growth in Our Hospital Systems—We are committed to better positioning our hospital systems and competing more effectively in the ever-evolving healthcare environment. We are focused on improving operational effectiveness, increasing capital efficiency and margins, investing in our physician enterprise, particularly our specialist network, enhancing physician and patient satisfaction, growing our higher-acuity inpatient service lines, expanding patient access points, and exiting service lines, businesses and markets that we believe are no longer strategic toa core part of our long-term growth.growth strategy. We have undertaken enterprise-wide cost reduction initiatives, comprised primarily of workforce reductions (including streamlining corporate overhead and centralized support functions), the renegotiation of contracts with suppliers and vendors, and the consolidation of office locations, which are intended to lower annual operating expenses by $250 million. We anticipate achieving the full annualized run-rate savings by the end of 2018. Most of the savings are expected to be achieved through actions within both our Hospital Operations and other segment and our Conifer segment.locations. In conjunction with these initiatives, we incurred restructuring charges related to employee severance payments of approximately $47$18 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, and we expect to incur additional such restructuring charges in the remainder of 2018.2019.

Improving the Customer Care Experience—As consumers continue to become more engaged in managing their health, we recognize that understanding what matters most to them and earning their loyalty is imperative to our success. As such, we have enhanced our focus on treating our patients as traditional customers by: (1) establishing networks of physicians and facilities that provide convenient access to services across the care continuum; (2) expanding service lines aligned with growing community demand, including a focus on aging and chronic disease patients; (3) offering greater affordability and predictability, including simplified admissions and discharge procedures, particularly in our outpatient centers; (4) improving our culture of service; and (5) creating health and benefit programs, patient education and health literacy materials that are customized to the needs of the communities we serve. Through these efforts, we intend to improve the customer care experience in every part of our operations.

Expansion of Our Ambulatory Care Segment—We remain focused on opportunities to expand our Ambulatory Care segment through organic growth, building new outpatient centers, corporate development activities and strategic partnerships. We believe USPI’s surgery centers and surgical hospitals offer many advantages to patients and physicians, including greater affordability, predictability, flexibility and convenience. Moreover, due in part to advancements in medical technology, and due to the lower cost structure and greater efficiencies that are attainable at a specialized outpatient site, we believe the volume and complexity of surgical cases performed in an outpatient setting will continue to steadily increase. In addition, we have continued to grow our imaging and urgent care businesses through USPI to reflect our broader strategies to (1) offer more services to patients, (2) broaden the capabilities we offer to healthcare systems and physicians, and (3) expand into faster-growing, less capital intensive, higher-margin businesses. Historically, our outpatient services have generated significantly higher margins for us than inpatient services.

Exploration of Strategic Alternatives for ConiferDriving Conifer’s Growth While Continuing to Drive Conifer’s Growth—Pursuing a Tax-free Spin-off—We previously announced a number of actions to support our goals of improving financial performance and enhancing shareholder value, including the exploration of a potential sale of Conifer. In addition to a potential sale, we are considering other strategic alternatives for Conifer. In July 2019, we announced our intention to pursue a tax-free spin-off of Conifer such as a merger,separate, independent, publicly traded company. Completion of the proposed spin-off is subject to a number of conditions, including, among others, assurance that the separation will be tax-free for U.S. federal income tax efficient spin-off orpurposes, execution of a combinationrestructured services agreement between Conifer and Tenet, finalization of alternative transactions. ThereConifer’s capital structure, the effectiveness of appropriate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and final approval from our Board of Directors. We are targeting to complete the separation by the end of the second quarter of 2021; however, there can be no assurance regarding the timeframe for completing the spin-off, the allocation of assets and liabilities between Tenet and Conifer, that this processthe other conditions of the spin-off will result in any transaction.be met, or that the spin-off will be completed at all.

Conifer serves approximately 780680 Tenet and non-Tenet hospital and other clients nationwide. In addition to providing revenue cycle management services to both healthcare systems and physicians, Conifer provides support to both providers and self-insured employers seeking assistance with clinical integration, financial risk management and population health management.

Conifer remains focused on driving growth by continuing to market and expand its revenue cycle management and value-based care solutions businesses.

Improving Profitability—We are focused on growing patient volumes and effective cost management as a means to improve profitability. We believe our patient volumesinpatient admissions have been constrained in recent years by increased competition, utilization pressure by managed care organizations, new delivery models that are designed to lower the utilization of acute care hospital services, the effects of higher patient co-pays, co-insurance amounts and deductibles, changing consumer behavior, and adverse economic conditions and demographic trends in certain of our markets. However, we also believe that targeted capital spending on growth opportunities for our hospitals, emphasis on higher-demand clinical service lines (including outpatient services), focus on expanding our ambulatory care business, cultivation of our culture of service, participation in Medicare Advantage health plans that are experiencing higher growth rates than traditional Medicare plans, and contracting strategies that create shared value with payers should help us grow our patient volumes over time. In 2019, we are continuing to explore new opportunities to enhance efficiency, including further integration of enterprise-wide centralized support functions, outsourcing certain functions unrelated to direct patient care, and reducing clinical and vendor contract variation.

Reducing Our Leverage—All of our outstanding long-term debt has a fixed rate of interest, except for outstanding borrowings under our revolving credit facility, and the maturity dates of our notes are staggered from 20192020 through 2031. Although we believe that our capital structure minimizes the near-term impact

of increased interest rates, and the staggered maturities of our debt allow us to refinance our debt over time, it is nonetheless our long-term objective to lower our ratio of debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA, primarily through more efficient capital allocation and Adjusted EBITDA growth, which should lower our refinancing risk and increase the potential for us to continue to use lower rate secured debt to refinance portions of our higher rate unsecured debt.

Our ability to execute on our strategies and managerespond to the aforementioned trends is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from expectations. For information about risks and uncertainties that could affect our results of operations, see the Risk Factors section in Part II of this report and the Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors sections in Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20172018 (“Annual Report”).
 
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS—OVERVIEW
 
The following tables show certain selected operating statistics for our continuing operations, which includes the results of (i) our same 6865 hospitals operated throughout the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018, and 2017, (ii) three Houston-area hospitals, which we divested effective August 1, 2017, (iii) Abrazo Maryvale Campus, which we closed in December 2017, (iv) two Philadelphia-area hospitals, which we divested effective January 11, 2018, (v)(iii) MacNeal Hospital, which we divested effective March 1, 2018, and (vi)(iv) Des Peres Hospital, which we divested effective May 1, 2018.2018, and (v) three Chicago-area hospitals, which we divested effective January 28, 2019. The following tables also show information about facilities in our Ambulatory Care segment that we control and, therefore, consolidate. The results of our former Aspen facilities, are included untilwhich we divested on August 17, 2018, the date of divestiture.are also included. We believe this information is useful to investors because it reflects our current portfolio of operations and the recent trends we are experiencing with respect to volumes, revenues and expenses. 

 Continuing Operations
Three Months Ended September 30,
  Continuing Operations
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
Selected Operating Statistics 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
  2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
 
Hospital Operations and other – hospitals and related outpatient facilities              
Number of hospitals (at end of period) 68
 73
 (5)(1) 65
 68
 (3)(1)
Total admissions 168,201
 185,389
 (9.3)%  169,352
 168,453
 0.5 % 
Adjusted patient admissions(2)
 306,197
 332,035
 (7.8)%  304,066
 306,063
 (0.7)% 
Paying admissions (excludes charity and uninsured) 157,193
 174,803
 (10.1)%  159,128
 158,216
 0.6 % 
Charity and uninsured admissions 11,008
 10,586
 4.0 %  10,224
 10,237
 (0.1)% 
Emergency department visits 638,248
 685,096
 (6.8)%  637,107
 643,036
 (0.9)% 
Total surgeries 107,094
 118,260
 (9.4)%  105,577
 110,079
 (4.1)% 
Patient days — total 761,920
 853,059
 (10.7)%  787,582
 766,519
 2.7 % 
Adjusted patient days(2)
 1,365,662
 1,502,831
 (9.1)%  1,387,929
 1,373,480
 1.1 % 
Average length of stay (days) 4.53
 4.60
 (1.5)%  4.65
 4.55
 2.2 % 
Average licensed beds 18,302
 19,783
 (7.5)%  17,221
 18,362
 (6.2)% 
Utilization of licensed beds(3)
 45.3% 46.9% (1.6)%(1) 50.3% 45.9% 4.4 %(1)
Total visits 1,722,292
 1,867,471
 (7.8)%  1,693,805
 1,749,847
 (3.2)% 
Paying visits (excludes charity and uninsured) 1,607,184
 1,741,815
 (7.7)%  1,581,530
 1,633,372
 (3.2)% 
Charity and uninsured visits 115,108
 125,656
 (8.4)%  112,275
 116,475
 (3.6)% 
Ambulatory Care              
Total consolidated facilities (at end of period) 228
 220
 8
(1) 232
 232
 
(1)
Total cases 491,377
 454,484
 8.1 %  514,567
 500,516
 2.8 % 
   
(1)The change is the difference between the 20182019 and 20172018 amounts shown.
(2)Adjusted patient admissions/days represents actual patient admissions/days adjusted to include outpatient services provided by facilities in our Hospital Operations and other segment by multiplying actual patient admissions/days by the sum of gross inpatient revenues and outpatient revenues and dividing the results by gross inpatient revenues.
(3)Utilization of licensed beds represents patient days divided by number of days in the period divided by average licensed beds.
 
Total admissions decreasedincreased by 17,188,899, or 9.3%0.5%, in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, and total surgeries decreased by 11,166,4,502, or 9.4%4.1%, in the 20182019 period compared to the 20172018 period. Our emergency department visits decreased 6.8%0.9% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in the prior year. Our volumes from continuing operations in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20172018 were negatively affected by the closure of our Abrazo Maryvale Campus in December 2017, the sale of our Philadelphia-area facilities effective January 11, 2018, the sale of MacNeal Hospital and affiliated operations effective March 1, 2018, and the sale of Des Peres Hospital and affiliated operations effective May 1, 2018.2018, and the sale of three Chicago-area hospitals and affiliated operations effective January 28, 2019. Our Ambulatory Care total cases increased 8.1% due2.8% in the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to the increase in consolidated facilities, as well as increased same-facility volumes. 

2018 period despite the negative impact of the sale of Aspen effective August 17, 2018.
 Continuing Operations
Three Months Ended September 30,
  Continuing Operations
Three Months Ended June 30,
Revenues 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
  2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
Net operating revenues             
Hospital Operations and other prior to inter-segment eliminations $3,762
 $3,866
 (2.7)%  $3,827
 $3,733
 2.5 %
Ambulatory Care 502
 468
 7.3 %  524
 531
 (1.3)%
Conifer 371
 401
 (7.5)%  355
 386
 (8.0)%
Inter-segment eliminations (146) (149) (2.0)%  (146) (144) 1.4 %
Total $4,489
 $4,586
 (2.1)%  $4,560
 $4,506
 1.2 %

Net operating revenues decreasedincreased by $97$54 million, or 2.1%1.2%, in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017,2018, primarily due to the salea favorable change in payer mix, increased acuity and closure of facilities described above. For our Hospital Operations and other segment, the decrease in net operating revenues was partially mitigated by improved managed care pricing.Also, the 2018 period included $71 million of net revenues from the California provider fee program compared to no revenue recorded under this program in the 2017 period because the extension of the program had not yet been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”).
 
Our accounts receivable days outstanding (“AR Days”) from continuing operations were 56.358.4 days at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 55.856.5 days at December 31, 2017,2018, compared to our target of less than 55 days. (ThisThis calculation includes our Hospital Operations and other contract assets, subsequent to the adoption of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Update 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” (“ASU 2014-09”) effective January 1, 2018 and the accounts receivable of our Chicago-area facilities that have been classified in assets held for sale on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2018, and excludes (i) three Houston-area hospitals, which we divested effective August 1, 2017, (ii) Abrazo Maryvale Campus, which we closed in December 2017, (iii) two Philadelphia-area hospitals, which we divested effective January 11, 2018, (iv)(ii) MacNeal Hospital, which we divested effective March 1, 2018, (v)(iii) Des Peres Hospital, which we divested effective May 1, 2018, (vi) Aspen facilities,(iv) three Chicago-area hospitals, which we divested effective August 17, 2018, (vii) health plan revenues,January 28, 2019, and (viii)(v) our California provider fee revenues.)

 Continuing Operations
Three Months Ended September 30,
 Continuing Operations
Three Months Ended June 30,
Selected Operating Expenses 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
Hospital Operations and other            
Salaries, wages and benefits $1,746
 $1,879
 (7.1)% $1,804
 $1,756
 2.7 %
Supplies 621
 644
 (3.6)% 644
 641
 0.5 %
Other operating expenses 930
 936
 (0.6)% 894
 852
 4.9 %
Total $3,297
 $3,459
 (4.7)% $3,342
 $3,249
 2.9 %
Ambulatory Care  
  
  
  
  
  
Salaries, wages and benefits $157
 $155
 1.3 % $157
 $165
 (4.8)%
Supplies 104
 95
 9.5 % 108
 106
 1.9 %
Other operating expenses 88
 93
 (5.4)% 86
 95
 (9.5)%
Total $349
 $343
 1.7 % $351
 $366
 (4.1)%
Conifer  
  
  
  
  
  
Salaries, wages and benefits $213
 $230
 (7.4)% $187
 $214
 (12.6)%
Supplies 1
 1
  % 1
 1
  %
Other operating expenses 76
 91
 (16.5)% 64
 80
 (20.0)%
Total $290
 $322
 (9.9)% $252
 $295
 (14.6)%
Total  
  
  
  
  
  
Salaries, wages and benefits $2,116
 $2,264
 (6.5)% $2,148
 $2,135
 0.6 %
Supplies 726
 740
 (1.9)% 753
 748
 0.7 %
Other operating expenses 1,094
 1,120
 (2.3)% 1,044
 1,027
 1.7 %
Total $3,936
 $4,124
 (4.6)% $3,945
 $3,910
 0.9 %
Rent/lease expense(1)
  
  
  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $57
 $61
 (6.6)% $59
 $56
 5.4 %
Ambulatory Care 20
 20
  % 21
 20
 5.0 %
Conifer 4
 4
  % 3
 5
 (40.0)%
Total $81
 $85
 (4.7)% $83
 $81
 2.5 %
   
(1) Included in other operating expenses.

 Continuing Operations
Three Months Ended September 30,
 Continuing Operations
Three Months Ended June 30,
Selected Operating Expenses per Adjusted Patient Admission 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
Hospital Operations and other            
Salaries, wages and benefits per adjusted patient admission(1)
 $5,700
 $5,651
 0.9% $5,931
 $5,736
 3.4%
Supplies per adjusted patient admission(1)
 2,028
 1,938
 4.6% 2,118
 2,092
 1.2%
Other operating expenses per adjusted patient admission(1)
 3,043
 2,778
 9.5% 2,939
 2,791
 5.3%
Total per adjusted patient admission $10,771
 $10,367
 3.9% $10,988
 $10,619
 3.5%
   
(1)
Calculation excludes the expenses from our health plan businesses. Adjusted patient admissions represents actual patient admissions adjusted to include outpatient services provided by facilities in our Hospital Operations and other segment by multiplying actual patient admissions by the sum of gross inpatient revenues and outpatient revenues and dividing the results by gross inpatient revenues.

Salaries, wages and benefits per adjusted patient admission increased 0.9%3.4% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017.2018. This change iswas primarily due to annual merit increases for certain of our employees and increased health benefitsworkers’ compensation costs as a result of favorable experience in the prior-year period, partially offset by the impact of previously announced workforce reductions as part of our enterprise-wide cost reduction initiatives andin the impact of favorable workers’ compensation experience.three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018.
 
Supplies expense per adjusted patient admission increased 4.6%1.2% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20172018. The change in supplies expense was primarily dueattributable to increased costs from certaingrowth in our higher acuity supply-intensive surgical services.services, partially offset by the impact of the group-purchasing strategies and supplies-management services we utilize to reduce costs.


Other operating expenses per adjusted patient admission increased by 9.5%5.3% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the prior-year period. This increase iswas primarily due to the effect of lower volumes on operating leverage due to certain fixed costs, increasedhigher medical fees, including increased medical losses on risk-based capitated contracts in California, increased technology and software costs, and increased malpractice expense to settle various claims. Other operating expenses inlegal and consulting fees. Also, the 20182019 period were offset by gains on sales of assets of $19 million primarily related to the sale ofincluded an equity method investment. In the 2018 period, we recognized a favorableunfavorable adjustment of approximately $5$10 million from a 2044 basis point increasedecrease in the interest rate used to estimate the discounted present value of projected future malpractice liabilities. In the 2017 period, we recognizedliabilities compared to a favorable adjustment of approximately $1$3 million from a two13 basis point increase in the interest rate used to estimatein the discounted present value of projected future malpractice liabilities.2018 period.
 
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES OVERVIEW
 
Cash and cash equivalents were $500 million at September 30, 2018 compared to $403$249 million at June 30, 2018.2019 compared to $252 million at March 31, 2019.
 
Significant cash flow items in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 included:

Net cash provided by operating activities before interest, taxes, discontinued operations and restructuring charges, acquisition-related costs, and litigation costs and settlements of $543$683 million;

Payments for restructuring charges, acquisition-related costs, and litigation costs and settlements of $50$48 million;

Capital expenditures of $136 million;

$8 million of payments for the purchases of businesses or joint venture interests;

Proceeds from sale of marketable securities, long-term investments and other assets of $22 million;

Proceeds from the sales of facilities and other assets of $17$144 million;

Interest payments of $151$326 million;

$36 millionPurchases of payments to purchase approximately $38 million aggregate principal amountbusinesses or joint venture interests of our 6.875% senior unsecured notes due 2031;$11 million; and

$7770 million of distributions paid to noncontrolling interests.
 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $799$294 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to $709$461 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. Key factors contributing to the change between the 20182019 and 20172018 periods include the following:

Increased netThe impact of an increase in AR Days outstanding;

Decreased cash receipts of $152$16 million related to the California provider fee program;

Additional interest payments of $35 million in the 2018 period primarily due to the six-month interest payment in January 2018 related to our 7.500% senior secured second lien notes due 2022, which were issued in December 2016; changes in the timing of certain interest payments as a result of our refinancing transactions in 2017 also impacted the year-over-year comparison;
Increased payments for restructuring charges, acquisition-related costs, and litigation costs and settlements of $17 million; and

$25 million of additional payments in the 2018 period for restructuring charges, acquisition-related costs, and litigation costs and settlements;

Lower income tax payments of $30 million in the 2018 period;

Increased cash flows from our health plan businesses of approximately $100 million due to cash outflows in the 2017 period resulting from the sales and wind-down of these businesses in 2017, compared to negligible cash flows in the 2018 period; and

The timing of other working capital items.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
 
This report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical or present facts, that address activities, events, outcomes, business strategies and other matters that we plan, expect, intend, assume, believe, budget, predict, forecast, project, target, estimate or anticipate (and other similar expressions) will, should or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-lookingstatements, including (but not limited to) disclosure regarding our future earnings, financial position, operational and strategic initiatives, and developments in the healthcare industry. Forward-looking statements represent management’s current expectations, based on currently available information, as to the outcome and timing of future events.events, but, by their nature, address matters that are indeterminate. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which we are unable to predict or control, that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements or healthcare industry results, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the risks described in the Risk Factors section in Part II of this report and the Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors sections in Part I of our Annual Report.
 
When considering forward-looking statements, a readeryou should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in our Annual Report and in this report. Should one or more of the risks and uncertainties described in our Annual Report or this report occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. We specifically disclaim any obligation to update any

information contained in a forward-looking statement or any forward-looking statement in its entirety and, therefore, disclaim any resulting liability for potentially related damages.except as required by law.
 
All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
 
SOURCES OF REVENUE FOR OUR HOSPITAL OPERATIONS AND OTHER SEGMENT
 
We earn revenues for patient services from a variety of sources, primarily managed care payers and the federal Medicare program, as well as state Medicaid programs, indemnity-based health insurance companies and self-payuninsured patients (that is, patients who do not have health insurance and are not covered by some other form of third-party arrangement).
 
The following table shows the sources of net patient service revenues less implicit price concessions and provision for doubtful accounts for our hospitals and related outpatient facilities, expressed as percentages of net patient service revenues less implicit price concessions and provision for doubtful accounts from all sources:

  Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
Net Patient Revenues Less Implicit Price Concessions and Provision for Doubtful Accounts from: 2018 2017 
Increase
(Decrease)
(1)
 2018 2017 
Increase
(Decrease)
(1)
Medicare 19.8% 22.0% (2.2)% 20.6% 22.4% (1.8)%
Medicaid 9.8% 7.1% 2.7 % 9.2% 7.4% 1.8 %
Managed care(2)
 64.9% 66.1% (1.2)% 65.3% 65.7% (0.4)%
Self-pay 0.9% 0.3% 0.6 % 0.7% 0.4% 0.3 %
Indemnity and other 4.6% 4.5% 0.1 % 4.2% 4.1% 0.1 %

  Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Net Patient Service Revenues Less Implicit Price Concessions from: 2019 2018 
Increase
(Decrease)
(1)
 2019 2018 
Increase
(Decrease)
(1)
Medicare 20.3% 20.4% (0.1)% 20.7% 20.9% (0.2)%
Medicaid 8.9% 9.1% (0.2)% 8.9% 9.0% (0.1)%
Managed care(2)
 65.7% 66.0% (0.3)% 65.7% 65.5% 0.2 %
Uninsured 0.3% 0.2% 0.1 % 0.2% 0.6% (0.4)%
Indemnity and other 4.8% 4.3% 0.5 % 4.5% 4.0% 0.5 %
   
(1)The change is the difference between the 20182019 and 20172018 percentages shown.
(2)Includes Medicare and Medicaid managed care programs.

Our payer mix on an admissions basis for our hospitals and related outpatient facilities, expressed as a percentage of total admissions from all sources, is shown below:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Admissions from: 2018 2017 
Increase
(Decrease)
(1)
 2018 2017 
Increase
(Decrease)
(1)
 2019 2018 
Increase
(Decrease)
(1)
 2019 2018 
Increase
(Decrease)
(1)
Medicare 24.4% 25.1% (0.7)% 25.5% 26.0% (0.5)% 24.8% 25.3% (0.5)% 25.5% 26.1% (0.6)%
Medicaid 6.5% 6.7% (0.2)% 6.3% 6.5% (0.2)% 6.1% 6.2% (0.1)% 6.1% 6.2% (0.1)%
Managed care(2)
 60.0% 60.2% (0.2)% 59.6% 59.7% (0.1)% 60.3% 59.8% 0.5 % 60.0% 59.4% 0.6 %
Self-pay 6.5% 5.7% 0.8 % 6.0% 5.5% 0.5 %
Charity and uninsured 6.1% 6.1%  % 5.8% 5.7% 0.1 %
Indemnity and other 2.6% 2.3% 0.3 % 2.6% 2.3% 0.3 % 2.7% 2.6% 0.1 % 2.6% 2.6%  %
   
(1)The change is the difference between the 20182019 and 20172018 percentages shown.
(2)Includes Medicare and Medicaid managed care programs.

GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
 
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), is the single largest payer of healthcare services in the United States. Approximately 5760 million individuals rely on healthcare benefits through Medicare, and approximately 7472 million individuals are enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”). These three programs are authorized by federal law and administered by CMS. Medicare is a federally funded health insurance program primarily for individuals 65 years of age and older, certainas well as some younger people with certain disabilities and people with end-stage renal disease,conditions, and is provided without regard to income or assets. Medicaid is administered by the states and is jointly funded by the federal government and state governments. Medicaid is the nation’s main public health insurance program for people with low incomes and is the largest source of health coverage in the United States. The CHIP, which is also administered by the states and jointly funded, provides health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but too low to afford private coverage. Unlike Medicaid, the CHIP is limited in duration and requires the enactment of reauthorizing legislation. During the three months ended March 31, 2018, separate pieces of legislation were enacted extending CHIP funding for a total of ten years from federal fiscal year (“FFY”) 2018 (which began on October 1, 2017) through FFY 2027.
 

Medicare
 
Medicare offers its beneficiaries different ways to obtain their medical benefits. One option, the Original Medicare Plan (which includes “Part A” and “Part B”), is a fee-for-service payment system. The other option, called Medicare Advantage (sometimes called “Part C” or “MA Plans”), includes health maintenance organizations (“HMOs”), preferred provider organizations (“PPOs”), private fee-for-service Medicare special needs plans and Medicare medical savings account plans. The major components of our net patient service revenues from continuing operations of the hospitals and related outpatient facilities in our Hospital Operations and other segment for services provided to patients enrolled in the Original Medicare Plan for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 20172018 are set forth in the following table:

 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Revenue Descriptions 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Medicare severity-adjusted diagnosis-related group — operating $355
 $388
 $1,152
 $1,248
 $368
 $373
 $772
 $797
Medicare severity-adjusted diagnosis-related group — capital 32
 37
 104
 115
 32
 34
 68
 72
Outliers 16
 21
 64
 64
 22
 21
 45
 48
Outpatient 178
 184
 561
 577
 185
 189
 375
 383
Disproportionate share 55
 65
 169
 204
 58
 56
 117
 114
Direct Graduate and Indirect Medical Education(1)
 47
 63
 150
 194
Other(2)
 (1) 6
 (38) 18
Adjustments for prior-year cost reports and related valuation allowances (1) 9
 2
 35
Total Medicare net patient revenues $681
 $773
 $2,164
 $2,455
Other(1)
 56
 28
 102
 69
Total Medicare net patient service revenues $721
 $701
 $1,479
 $1,483
   
(1)

IncludesThe other revenue category includes Medicare Direct Graduate Medical Education and Indirect Medical Education (“IME”) revenues, IME revenues earned by our children’s hospitals (one of which we divested in 2018) under the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Payment Program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration of HHS.
(2)

The other revenue category includesHHS, inpatient psychiatric units, inpatient rehabilitation units, one long-term acute care hospital (which was divested in 2017), other revenue adjustments, and adjustments related to the estimates for current-yearcurrent and prior-year cost reports and related valuation allowances.

A general description of the types of payments we receive for services provided to patients enrolled in the Original Medicare Plan is provided in our Annual Report. Recent regulatory and legislative updates to the terms of these payment systems and their estimated effect on our revenues can be found under “Regulatory and Legislative Changes” below.

Medicaid

Medicaid programs and the corresponding reimbursement methodologies are administered by the states and vary from state to state and from year to year. Estimated revenues under various state Medicaid programs, including state-funded Medicaid managed care Medicaid programs, constituted approximately 19.9%18.9% and 19.3%19.4% of total net patient service revenues less implicit price concessions and provision for doubtful accounts of our acute care hospitals and related outpatient facilities for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively. We also receive disproportionate share hospital (“DSH”) and other supplemental revenues under various state Medicaid programs. For the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, our total Medicaid revenues attributable to DSH and other supplemental revenues were approximately $651$414 million and $462$418 million, respectively. The 20182019 period included $223$125 million related the Michigan provider fee program, $198$129 million from the California provider fee program, $106$80 million related to Medicaid DSH programs in multiple states, $87$69 million related to the Texas 1115 waiver program, and $37$11 million from a number of other state and local programs.

Several states in which we operate continue to face budgetary challenges that have resulted, and likely will continue to result, in reduced Medicaid funding levels to hospitals and other providers. Because most states must operate with balanced budgets, and the Medicaid program is generally a significant portion of a state’s budget, states can be expected to adopt or consider adopting future legislation designed to reduce or not increase their Medicaid expenditures. In addition, some states delay issuing Medicaid payments to providers to manage state expenditures. As an alternative means of funding provider payments, many of the states in which we operate have adopted provider fee programs or received waivers under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act. Under a Medicaid waiver, the federal government waives certain Medicaid requirements, thereby giving states flexibility in the operation of their Medicaid program to allow states to test new approaches and demonstration projects to improve care. Generally the Section 1115 waivers are approved for a period of five years with an option to extend the waiver for three additional years. Continuing pressure on state budgets and other factors could result in future reductions to Medicaid payments, payment delays or additional taxes on hospitals.

Because we cannot predict what actions the federal government or the states may take under existing legislation and future legislation to address budget gaps, deficits, Medicaid expansion, provider fee programs or Medicaid Section 1115 waivers, we are unable to assess the effect that any such legislation might have on our business, but the impact on our future financial position, results of operations or cash flows could be material.

Medicaid-related
Medicaid and Managed Medicaid net patient service revenues from continuing operations recognized by the hospitals and related outpatient facilities in our Hospital Operations and other segment from Medicaid-related programs in the states in which our facilities are (or were, as the case may be) located, as well as from Medicaid programs in neighboring states, for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 20172018 are set forth in the following table. These revenues are presented net of provider assessments, which are reported as an offset reduction to fee-for-service Medicaid revenue.

 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2018 2017 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Hospital Location Medicaid Managed
Medicaid
 Medicaid Managed
Medicaid
 2019 2018
Alabama $69
 $
 $66
 $
 $46
 $45
Arizona (20) 138
 (3) 144
 72
 78
California 329
 331
 125
 320
 441
 433
Florida 53
 118
 52
 128
 111
 122
Georgia (1) 1
 (1) 
 
 (1)
Illinois 35
 34
 55
 53
 5
 57
Massachusetts 39
 33
 24
 37
 44
 46
Michigan 316
 244
 277
 258
 361
 356
Missouri 
 
 1
 1
Pennsylvania 2
 6
 59
 156
 
 9
South Carolina 15
 26
 9
 25
 28
 27
Tennessee 3
 24
 3
 23
 18
 18
Texas 131
 168
 140
 162
 222
 186
 $971
 $1,123
 $806
 $1,307
 $1,348
 $1,376

Medicaid and Managed Medicaid revenues comprised 47% and 53%, respectively, of our Medicaid-related net patient service revenues from continuing operations recognized by the hospitals and related outpatient facilities in our Hospital Operations and other segment for both the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018.

Regulatory and Legislative Changes
 
Material updates to the information set forth in our Annual Report about the Medicare and Medicaid payment systems are provided below.

Payment and Policy Changes to the Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems

Under Medicare law, CMS is required to annually update certain rules governing the inpatient prospective payment systems (“IPPS”). The updates generally become effective October 1, the beginning of the federal fiscal year. OnIn August 2, 2018,2019, CMS issued Changes to the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and Fiscal Year 20192020 Rates (“Final IPPS Rule”). The Final IPPS Rule includes the following payment and policy changes:

A market basket increase of 2.9%3.0% for Medicare severity-adjusted diagnosis-related group (“MS-DRG”) operating payments for hospitals reporting specified quality measure data and that are meaningful users of electronic health record (“EHR”) technology (hospitals that do not report specified quality measure data and/or are not meaningful users of EHR technology will receive a reduced market basket increase);technology; CMS also madefinalized certain adjustments to the 2.9%3.0% market basket increase that result in a net operating payment update of 1.85%3.1% (before budget neutrality adjustments), including:

Market basket index andA multifactor productivity reductionsreduction required by the ACA of 0.75% and 0.8%, respectively;0.4%; and

A 0.5% increase required under the 21st Century Cures Act;Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015;

Updates to the three factors used to determine the amount and distribution of Medicare uncompensated care disproportionate share (“UC-DSH”) payments, includingpayments; in addition to adjusting the continuation of the transition from using low-income days to estimated uncompensated care costs forUC-DSH amounts, CMS will base the distribution of the FFY 2020 UC-DSH amounts;amounts on uncompensated care costs reported by hospitals in the 2015 cost reports, which reflects changes to the calculation of a hospital’s share of the UC-DSH amounts by: (1) removing low income days; and (2) using a single year of uncompensated care cost in lieu of the three-year averaging methodology used in recent years;

A 1.27%0.7% net increase in the capital federal MS-DRG rate;

A decreaseAn increase in the cost outlier threshold from $26,537$25,769 to $25,769;

The application of the Medicare IPPS post-acute transfer payment policy to “early discharges” from the hospital to hospice care as required by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018;$26,473; and

Effective January 1, 2019,Changes in the requirementcalculation of the wage index areas that include:

Increasing the wage index for hospitals make availablewith a wage index below the 25th percentile and applying a uniform budget neutrality factor to the publicIPPS base rates to offset the estimated increase in IPPS payments to hospitals with wage index values below the 25th percentile;

A refinement to the calculation of the “rural floor” wage index; and

A one-year stop-loss transition for a listhospital that experiences a decline of their current standard charges via the Internetgreater than 5% in a machine-readable format and update this information at least annually or more often as appropriate.its wage index.


According to CMS, the combined impact of the payment and policy changes in the Final IPPS Rule for operating costs will yield an average 2.5%2.8% increase in Medicare operating MS-DRG fee-for-service (“FFS”) payments for hospitals in large urban areas (populations over one million), and an average 2.1%2.8% increase in operating MS-DRG FFS payments for proprietary hospitals in FFY 2019.2020. We estimate that all of the payment and policy changes affecting operating MS-DRG payments, including those affecting Medicare DSHUC-DSH amounts, and the hospice transfer payment policy, will result in an estimated 2.0%1.4% increase in our annual Medicare FFS IPPS payments, which yields an estimated increase of approximately $40$28 million. Because of the uncertainty associated with various factors that may influence our future IPPS payments by individual hospital, including legislative, regulatory or legal actions, admission volumes, length of stay and case mix, we cannot provide any assurances regarding our estimate of the impact of the payment and policy changes.

Proposed Payment and Policy Changes to the Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgery Center Payment Systems

On November 2, 2018,July 29, 2019, CMS released Changes toproposed policy changes and payment rates for the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (“ASC”) Payment System for calendar year (“CY”) 20192020 (“FinalProposed OPPS/ASC Rule”). The FinalProposed OPPS/ASC Rule includes the following payment and policy changes:

An estimated net increase of 1.35%2.7% for the OPPS rates based on an estimated market basket increase of 2.9%3.2% reduced by market basket index anda multifactor productivity reductionsadjustment required by the ACA of 0.75% and 0.8%, respectively;

A transition over a two year period to the Medicare physician fee schedule rates for the payment of clinic/office visits provided at off-campus, hospital-based departments that are currently paid under the OPPS (this payment reduction will not be made in a budget-neutral manner and will result in a reduction of approximately 0.6% to total CY 2019 OPPS payments)0.5%;

A 2.1%continuation of the reduced payment amount for separately payable drugs acquired with a discount under CMS’ 340B program (“340B Drugs”) equal to a rate of average sales price (“ASP”) minus 22.5%; CMS is also soliciting comments on alternative payment policies for 340B Drugs, as well as the appropriate remedy for CYs 2018 and 2019, in the event that CMS does not prevail on appeal in the pending litigation discussed in greater detail below;

A prior authorization process for five categories of services;

A 2.7% increase to the ASC payment rates; and

A revisionCodification of and additional standards relating to the definition of “surgery” in the ASC payment system to accountrequirements that hospitals disclose prices, including negotiated prices for certain “surgery-like” procedures, and the addition of 12 cardiac catheterization procedures and five related procedures to the ASC covered procedures list.services.

CMS projects that the combined impact of the proposed payment and policy changes in the FinalProposed OPPS/ASC Rule will yield an average 0.6%2.0% increase in Medicare FFS OPPS payments for all hospitals, an average 0.7%1.9% increase in Medicare FFS OPPS payments for hospitals in large urban areas (populations over one million), and an average 1.0%3.0% increase in Medicare FFS OPPS payments for proprietary hospitals. Based on CMS’ estimates, the projected annual impact of the payment and policy changes in the FinalProposed OPPS/ASC Rule on our hospitals is an increase to Medicare FFS hospital outpatient revenues of approximately $7$15 million, which represents an increase of approximately 1.1%2.4%. Because of the uncertainty associated with various factors that may influence our future OPPS payments, including legislative or legal actions, volumes and case mix, as well as potential changes to the proposals, we cannot provide any assurances regarding our estimate of the impact of the proposed payment and policy changes.

Proposed Payment and Policy Changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

On July 29, 2019, CMS issued a proposed rule that includes updates to payment policies, payment rates, quality provisions and other policies for services reimbursed under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”) for CY 2020. With the budget neutrality adjustment to account for changes in the relative value units required by law, the final MPFS conversion factor for 2020 will increase by approximately 0.14%. CMS estimates that the impact of the proposed payment and policy changes in the final rule will result in no change in aggregate FFS MPFS payments across all specialties.

Significant Litigation

340B Litigation

The 340B program allows certain hospitals (i.e., only nonprofit organizations with specific federal designations and/or funding) to purchase separately payable drugs at discounted rates from drug manufacturers. In the final rule regarding OPPS payment and policy changes for CY 2018, CMS reduced the payment for 340B Drugs from average sale price plus 6% to ASP minus 22.5% and made a corresponding budget-neutral increase to payments to all hospitals for other drugs and services reimbursed under the OPPS (the “340B Payment Adjustment”). In the final rule regarding OPPS payment and policy changes for CY 2019 (“CY 2019 OPPS Final Rule”), CMS continued the 340B Payment Adjustment. Certain hospital associations and hospitals commenced litigation challenging CMS’ authority to impose the 340B Payment Adjustment for CYs 2018 and 2019. During the three months ended June 30, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (the “District Court”) held that the adoption of the 340B Payment Adjustment in the CY 2019 OPPS Final Rule exceeded CMS’ statutory authority. This holding followed the District Court’s December 2018 conclusion that HHS exceeded its statutory authority in reducing the CY 2018 OPPS for the 340B Payment Adjustment. The District Court did not grant a permanent injunction to the 340B Payment Adjustment, nor did it vacate the 2018 and 2019 rules. Also during the three months ended June 30, 2019, the District Court issued a Memorandum Opinion granting HHS’ motion for entry of final judgment, thus allowing HHS to proceed with a pending appeal of the District Court’s rulings at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the “Circuit Court”). We cannot predict the ultimate outcome of the 340B litigation; however, CMS’ remedy and/or an unfavorable outcome of the litigation could have an adverse effect on the Company’s net revenues and cash flows.

Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital Litigation

Medicare makes additional payments to hospitals that treat a disproportionately high share of low-income patients, Prior to October 1, 2013, DSH payments were based on each hospital’s low income utilization for each payment year (the “Pre-ACA DSH Formula”). In the final rule regarding IPPS payment and policy changes for FFY 2005, CMS revised its policy on the calculation of one of the ratios used in the Pre-ACA DSH Formula. A group of hospitals challenged the policy change claiming that CMS failed to provide adequate notice and a comment period. The District Court vacated the rule. CMS appealed the ruling, and the Circuit Court affirmed the District Court’s decision. Since then, CMS has continued to use the vacated policy and was again met with legal challenges. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) upheld the Circuit Court’s decision that CMS’ continued use of the vacated policy is not legal. Although the SCOTUS decision applies only to the 2012 ratios for the plaintiff hospitals, it establishes a precedent that we believe will result in a favorable outcome in our pending Medicare DSH appeals for 2005-2013; however, we cannot predict the timing or outcome of our appeals or when and how CMS will implement the SCOTUS decision. A favorable outcome of our DSH appeals could have a material impact on our future revenues and cash flows.
PRIVATE INSURANCE

Managed Care

We currently have thousands of managed care contracts with various HMOs and PPOs. HMOs generally maintain a full-service healthcare delivery network comprised of physician, hospital, pharmacy and ancillary service providers that HMO members must access through an assigned “primary care” physician. The member’s care is then managed by his or her primary care physician and other network providers in accordance with the HMO’s quality assurance and utilization review guidelines so that appropriate healthcare can be efficiently delivered in the most cost-effective manner. HMOs typically provide reduced benefits or reimbursement (or none at all) to their members who use non-contracted healthcare providers for non-emergency care.

PPOs generally offer limited benefits to members who use non-contracted healthcare providers. PPO members who use contracted healthcare providers receive a preferred benefit, typically in the form of lower co-pays, co-insurance or deductibles. As employers and employees have demanded more choice, managed care plans have developed hybrid products that combine elements of both HMO and PPO plans, including high-deductible healthcare plans that may have limited benefits, but cost the employee less in premiums.


The amount of our managed care net patient service revenues, including Medicare and Medicaid managed care programs, from our Hospital Operationshospitals and other segmentrelated outpatient facilities during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018 and 2017 was $6.869$4.684 billion and $7.211$4.641 billion, respectively. Approximately 64%Our top ten managed care payers generated 62% of our managed care net patient service revenues for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018 was derived from our top ten managed care payers.2019. National payers generated approximately 43% of our total net managed care revenues.net patient

service revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2019. The remainder comes from regional or local payers. At SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017, approximately2018, 62% and 61% and 62%, respectively, of our net accounts receivable for our Hospital Operations and other segment were due from managed care payers.

Revenues under managed care plans are based primarily on payment terms involving predetermined rates per diagnosis, per-diem rates, discounted fee-for-service rates andand/or other similar contractual arrangements. These revenues are also subject to review and possible audit by the payers, which can take several years before they are completely resolved. The payers are billed for patient services on an individual patient basis. An individual patient’s bill is subject to adjustment on a patient-by-patient basis in the ordinary course of business by the payers following their review and adjudication of each particular bill. We estimate the discounts for contractual allowances at the individual hospital level utilizing billing data on an individual patient basis. At the end of each month, on an individual hospital basis, we estimate our expected reimbursement for patients of managed care plans based on the applicable contract terms. We believe it is reasonably likely for there to be an approximately 3% increase or decrease in the estimated contractual allowances related to managed care plans. Based on reserves at SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, a 3% increase or decrease in the estimated contractual allowance would impact the estimated reserves by approximately $13$15 million. Some of the factors that can contribute to changes in the contractual allowance estimates include: (1) changes in reimbursement levels for procedures, supplies and drugs when threshold levels are triggered; (2) changes in reimbursement levels when stop-loss or outlier limits are reached; (3) changes in the admission status of a patient due to physician orders subsequent to initial diagnosis or testing; (4) final coding of in-house and discharged-not-final-billed patients that change reimbursement levels; (5) secondary benefits determined after primary insurance payments; and (6) reclassification of patients among insurance plans with different coverage and payment levels. Contractual allowance estimates are periodically reviewed for accuracy by taking into consideration known contract terms, as well as payment history. Although we do not separately accumulate and disclose the aggregate amount of adjustments to the estimated reimbursement for every patient bill, weWe believe our estimation and review process enables us to identify instances on a timely basis where such estimates need to be revised. We do not believe there were any adjustments to estimates of patient bills that were material to our operating income.revenues. In addition, on a corporate-wide basis, we do not record any general provision for adjustments to estimated contractual allowances for managed care plans. Managed care accounts, net of contractual allowances recorded, are further reduced to their net realizable value through implicit price concessions based on historical collection trends for these payers and other factors that affect the estimation process.

We expect managed care governmental admissions to continue to increase as a percentage of total managed care admissions over the near term. However, the managed Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans typically generate lower yields than commercial managed care plans, which have been experiencing an improved pricing trend. Although we have benefited from solid year-over-year aggregate managed care pricing improvements for several years, we have seen these improvements moderate in recent years, and we believe the moderation could continue in future years. In the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, our commercial managed care net inpatient revenue per admission from the hospitals and related outpatient facilities in our Hospital Operations and other segment was approximately 93%96% higher than our aggregate yield on a per admission basis from government payers, including managed Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans.

Indemnity

An indemnity-based agreement generally requires the insurer to reimburse an insured patient for healthcare expenses after those expenses have been incurred by the patient, subject to policy conditions and exclusions. Unlike an HMO member, a patient with indemnity insurance is free to control his or her utilization of healthcare and selection of healthcare providers.

SELF-PAYUNINSURED PATIENTS

Self-payUninsured patients are patients who do not qualify for government programs payments, such as Medicare and Medicaid, do not have some form of private insurance and, therefore, are responsible for their own medical bills. A significant number of our self-payuninsured patients are admitted through our hospitals’ emergency departments and often require high-acuity treatment that is more costly to provide and, therefore, results in higher billings, which are the least collectible of all accounts.

Self-pay accounts pose significant collectability problems. At September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, approximately 7% and 6%, respectively, of our net accounts receivable, for our Hospital Operations and other segment werewhich include amounts due from self-pay patients. Further, a significant portion of our implicit price concessions relates to self-payuninsured patients, as well as co-pays, co-insurance amounts and deductibles owed to us by patients with insurance.insurance, pose significant collectability problems. At both June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, approximately 6% of our net accounts receivable for our Hospital Operations and other segment was self-pay. Further, a significant portion of our implicit price concessions relates to self-pay amounts. We provide revenue cycle management services through Conifer, which is subject to various statutes and regulations regarding consumer protection in areas including

finance, debt collection and credit reporting activities. For additional information, see Item 1, Business — Regulations Affecting Conifer’s Operations, inof Part I of our Annual Report.


Conifer has performed systematic analyses to focus our attention on the drivers of bad debt expense for each hospital. While emergency department use is the primary contributor to our implicit price concessions in the aggregate, this is not the case at all hospitals. As a result, we have increased our focus on targeted initiatives that concentrate on non-emergency department patients as well. These initiatives are intended to promote process efficiencies in collecting self‑pay accounts, as well as co-pay, co-insurance and deductible amounts owed to us by patients with insurance, that we deem highly collectible. We leverage a statistical-based collections model that aligns our operational capacity to maximize our collections performance. We are dedicated to modifying and refining our processes as needed, enhancing our technology and improving staff training throughout the revenue cycle process in an effort to increase collections and reduce accounts receivable.

Over the longer term, several other initiatives we have previously announced should also help address this challenge. For example, our Compact with Uninsured Patients (“Compact”) is designed to offer managed care-style discounts to certain uninsured patients, which enables us to offer lower rates to those patients who historically had been charged standard gross charges. A significant portion of those charges had previously been written down in our provision for doubtful accounts. Under the Compact, the discount offered to uninsured patients is recognized as a contractual allowance, which reduces net operating revenues at the time the self-pay accounts are recorded. The uninsured patient accounts, net of contractual allowances recorded, are further reduced to their net realizable value through implicit price concessions based on historical collection trends for self-pay accounts and other factors that affect the estimation process.

We also provide financial assistance through our charity careand uninsured discount programs to uninsured patients who are unable to pay for the healthcare services they receive. Most patients who qualify for charity care are charged a per-diem amount for services received, subject to a cap. Except for the per-diem amounts, ourOur policy is not to pursue collection of amounts determined to qualify as charity care;for financial assistance; therefore, we do not report these amounts in net operating revenues. Most states include an estimate of the cost of charity care in the determination of a hospital’s eligibility for Medicaid DSH payments. These payments are intended to mitigate our cost of uncompensated care, as well as reducedcare. Some states have also developed provider fee or other supplemental payment programs to mitigate the shortfall of Medicaid funding levels. Generally, our methodreimbursement compared to the cost of measuring the estimated costs uses adjusted self-pay/charity patient days multiplied by selected operating expenses (which include salaries, wages and benefits, supplies and other operating expenses) per adjusted patient day. The adjusted self-pay/charity patient days represents actual self-pay/charity patient days adjusted to include self-pay/charity outpatient services by multiplying actual self-pay/charity patient days by the sum of gross self-pay/charity inpatient revenues and gross self-pay/charity outpatient revenues and dividing the results by gross self-pay/charity inpatient revenues.caring for Medicaid patients.

    The following table shows our estimated costs (based on selected operating expenses, which include salaries, wages and benefits, supplies and other operating expenses and which exclude the costs of our health plan businesses) of caring for self-pay patientsour uninsured and charity care patients as well as revenues attributable to Medicaid DSH and other supplemental revenues we recognized, in the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017:2018:
  Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
  2018 2017 2018 2017
Estimated costs for:  
  
  
  
Self-pay patients $172
 $164
 $477
 $484
Charity care patients 28
 29
 91
 92
Total $200
 $193
 $568
 $576
Medicaid DSH and other supplemental revenues $233
 $140
 $651
 $462

The expansion of health insurance coverage in prior periods has resulted in an increase in the number of patients using our facilities who have either health insurance exchange or government healthcare insurance program coverage. However, we continue to have to provide uninsured discounts and charity care due to the failure of states to expand Medicaid coverage and for persons living in the country illegally who are not permitted to enroll in a health insurance exchange or government healthcare insurance program. Furthermore, in October 2017, the Trump administration announced that reimbursements to insurance companies for ACA cost-sharing reduction (“CSR”) plans offered through the health insurance marketplace would be discontinued. CSR payments compensate insurers for subsidizing out-of-pocket costs for low-income enrollees. Without the CSR payments, some insurers may seek approval to increase premiums for plans offered on ACA exchanges or withdraw from offering plans on some or all of the exchanges. We cannot predict what actions insurers might take as a result of the order, the impact of those actions on our operations, or the outcome of legislative efforts or litigation seeking to restore the payments. We also do not know what adverse impact the continued uncertainty may have on marketplace enrollment and coverage.
  Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
  2019 2018 2019 2018
Estimated costs for:  
  
  
  
Uninsured patients $164
 $159
 $322
 $305
Charity care patients 41
 28
 75
 63
Total $205
 $187
 $397
 $368


RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
 
The following two tables summarize our consolidated net operating revenues, operating expenses and operating income from continuing operations, both in dollar amounts and as percentages of net operating revenues, for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017:2018: 
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net operating revenues:  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $3,762
 $4,212
 $11,442
 $13,148
 $3,827
 $3,733
 $7,689
 $7,680
Ambulatory Care 502
 477
 1,531
 1,422
 524
 531
 1,004
 1,029
Conifer 371
 401
 1,161
 1,203
 355
 386
 704
 790
Inter-segment eliminations (146) (149) (440) (463) (146) (144) (292) (294)
Net operating revenues before provision for doubtful accounts 4,489
 4,941
 13,694
 15,310
Less provision for doubtful accounts 
 355
 
 1,109
Net operating revenues
 4,489
 4,586
 13,694
 14,201
 4,560
 4,506
 9,105
 9,205
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates 33
 38
 97
 95
 42
 39
 76
 64
Operating expenses:  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Salaries, wages and benefits 2,116
 2,264
 6,478
 6,990
 2,148
 2,135
 4,301
 4,362
Supplies 726
 740
 2,248
 2,285
 753
 748
 1,494
 1,522
Other operating expenses, net 1,094
 1,120
 3,181
 3,466
 1,044
 1,027
 2,118
 2,087
Electronic health record incentives 
 (1) (1) (8) 
 
 (1) (1)
Depreciation and amortization 204
 219
 602
 662
 214
 194
 422
 398
Impairment and restructuring charges, and acquisition-related costs 46
 329
 123
 403
 36
 30
 55
 77
Litigation and investigation costs 9
 6
 28
 12
 18
 13
 31
 19
Net losses (gains) on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities 7
 (104) (111) (142) 1
 (8) 2
 (118)
Operating income $320
 $51
 $1,243
 $628
 $388
 $406
 $759
 $923
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net operating revenues 100.0% 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0% 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates 0.7% 0.8 % 0.7 % 0.7 % 0.9% 0.9 % 0.8 % 0.7 %
Operating expenses:  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Salaries, wages and benefits 47.1% 49.4 % 47.3 % 49.3 % 47.1% 47.4 % 47.3 % 47.5 %
Supplies 16.2% 16.1 % 16.4 % 16.1 % 16.5% 16.6 % 16.4 % 16.5 %
Other operating expenses, net 24.4% 24.4 % 23.2 % 24.4 % 22.9% 22.8 % 23.3 % 22.7 %
Electronic health record incentives %  %  % (0.1)% %  %  %  %
Depreciation and amortization 4.5% 4.8 % 4.4 % 4.7 % 4.7% 4.3 % 4.6 % 4.3 %
Impairment and restructuring charges, and acquisition-related costs 1.0% 7.2 % 0.9 % 2.8 % 0.8% 0.7 % 0.6 % 0.8 %
Litigation and investigation costs 0.2% 0.1 % 0.2 % 0.1 % 0.4% 0.3 % 0.3 % 0.2 %
Net losses (gains) on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities 0.2% (2.3)% (0.8)% (1.0)% % (0.2)%  % (1.3)%
Operating income 7.1% 1.1 % 9.1 % 4.4 % 8.5% 9.0 % 8.3 % 10.0 %
 
Total net operating revenues increased by $54 million, or 1.2%, and decreased by $97 million and $507$100 million, or 2.1% and 3.6%1.1%, for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, respectively, compared to the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, respectively. Hospital Operations and other and Ambulatory Care net operating revenues and provision for doubtful accounts were impacted by our adoption of ASU 2014-09 effective January 1, 2018. Prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09, a significant portion of our provision for doubtful accounts related to self-pay patients, as well as co-pays, co-insurance amounts and deductibles owed to us by patients with insurance. Under ASU 2014-09, the estimated uncollectable amounts due from these patients are generally considered implicit price concessions that are a direct reduction to net operating revenues, with a corresponding material reduction in the amounts presented separately as provision for doubtful accounts. Hospital Operations and other net operating revenues net of implicit price concessions and provision for doubtful accounts decreasedincreased by $104$92 million and $624$11 million, or 2.7%2.6% and 5.2%0.1%, for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, respectively, compared to the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, respectively, primarily due to the divestiture or closure of eight hospitals since the 2017 period, as well as decreased revenues from our health plans, most of which were sold or winding downimproved inpatient volumes, a favorable change in 2017. The threepayer mix, increased acuity and nine months ended September 30, 2018 included $71 million and $198 million, respectively, of net revenues from the California provider fee program compared to no revenue recorded under this program in the 2017 periods because the extension of the program had not yet been approved by CMS.improved managed care pricing. Ambulatory Care net operating revenues net of

implicit price concessions and provision for doubtful accounts increased $34decreased by $7 million and $136$25 million, or 7.3%1.3% and 9.7%2.4%, for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, respectively, compared to the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, respectively. The growthchanges in 20182019 revenues waswere driven by decreases of $47 million and $96 million due to the sale of Aspen and decreases of $16 million and $31 million due to the deconsolidation of a facility, partially offset by increases in same-facility net operating revenues of $35$27 million and $96 million, partially offset by decreases due to the sale of Aspen of $21$48 million and $12increases from acquisitions of $29 million and $54 million, in each case, for the three and nine month periods, respectively. Acquisitions increased 2018 revenues by $20 million and $52 million for the three and ninesix month periods, respectively. Conifer net operating revenues decreased $30by $31 million and $42$86 million, or 7.5%8.0% and 3.5%10.9%, for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, respectively, compared to the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, respectively. Conifer revenues from third-party customers, which are not eliminated in consolidation, decreased $33 million and $84 million, or 13.6% and 16.9%, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, respectively, compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively. Conifer revenues from third-party customers were negatively impacted by contract terminations related to the sales of customer hospitals.


The following table shows selected operating expenses of our three reportable business segments. Information for our Hospital Operations and other segment is presented on a same-hospital basis, which includes the results of our same 6865 hospitals operated throughout the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017. The2018. Our same-hospital information excludes the results of three Houston-area hospitals, which we divested effective August 1, 2017, Abrazo Maryvale Campus, which we closed in December 2017, two Philadelphia-area hospitals, which we divested effective January 11, 2018, MacNeal Hospital, which we divested effective March 1, 2018, and Des Peres Hospital, which we divested effective May 1, 2018, are excluded from our same-hospital information. In addition, although we operated four North Texasand three Chicago-area hospitals, throughout the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and from January 1 through February 28, 2018, we did not consolidate the results of operations of these hospitals becausewhich we divested a controlling interest in them effective January 1, 2016.28, 2019.
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Selected Operating Expenses 2018 2017 
Increase
(Decrease)
 2018 2017 
Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 
Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 
Increase
(Decrease)
Hospital Operations and other — Same-Hospital                        
Salaries, wages and benefits $1,746
 $1,716
 1.7 % $5,294
 $5,212
 1.6 % $1,805
 $1,706
 5.8 % $3,603
 $3,452
 4.4 %
Supplies 621
 592
 4.9 % 1,907
 1,815
 5.1 % 644
 623
 3.4 % 1,281
 1,254
 2.2 %
Other operating expenses 929
 800
 16.1 % 2,625
 2,491
 5.4 % 891
 807
 10.4 % 1,809
 1,613
 12.2 %
Total $3,296
 $3,108
 6.0 % $9,826
 $9,518
 3.2 % $3,340
 $3,136
 6.5 % $6,693
 $6,319
 5.9 %
Ambulatory Care  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Salaries, wages and benefits $157
 $155
 1.3 % $484
 $458
 5.7 % $157
 $165
 (4.8)% $310
 $327
 (5.2)%
Supplies 104
 95
 9.5 % 316
 285
 10.9 % 108
 106
 1.9 % 207
 212
 (2.4)%
Other operating expenses 88
 93
 (5.4)% 275
 267
 3.0 % 86
 95
 (9.5)% 168
 187
 (10.2)%
Total $349
 $343
 1.7 % $1,075
 $1,010
 6.4 % $351
 $366
 (4.1)% $685
 $726
 (5.6)%
Conifer  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Salaries, wages and benefits $213
 $230
 (7.4)% $652
 $730
 (10.7)% $187
 $214
 (12.6)% $372
 $439
 (15.3)%
Supplies 1
 1
  % 4
 3
 33.3 % 1
 1
  % 2
 3
 (33.3)%
Other operating expenses 76
 91
 (16.5)% 235
 266
 (11.7)% 64
 80
 (20.0)% 128
 159
 (19.5)%
Total $290
 $322
 (9.9)% $891
 $999
 (10.8)% $252
 $295
 (14.6)% $502
 $601
 (16.5)%
Total                        
Salaries, wages and benefits $2,116
 $2,101
 0.7 % $6,430
 $6,400
 0.5 % $2,149
 $2,085
 3.1 % $4,285
 $4,218
 1.6 %
Supplies 726
 688
 5.5 % 2,227
 2,103
 5.9 % 753
 730
 3.2 % 1,490
 1,469
 1.4 %
Other operating expenses 1,093
 984
 11.1 % 3,135
 3,024
 3.7 % 1,041
 982
 6.0 % 2,105
 1,959
 7.5 %
Total $3,935
 $3,773
 4.3 % $11,792
 $11,527
 2.3 % $3,943
 $3,797
 3.8 % $7,880
 $7,646
 3.1 %
Rent/lease expense(1)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Hospital Operations and other $57
 $56
 1.8 % $171
 $166
 3.0 % $59
 $54
 9.3 % $118
 $110
 7.3 %
Ambulatory Care 20
 20
  % 60
 57
 5.3 % 21
 20
 5.0 % 41
 40
 2.5 %
Conifer 4
 4
  % 13
 14
 (7.1)% 3
 5
 (40.0)% 6
 9
 (33.3)%
Total $81
 $80
 1.3 % $244
 $237
 3.0 % $83
 $79
 5.1 % $165
 $159
 3.8 %
   
(1) Included in other operating expenses.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS BY SEGMENT
 
Our operations are reported in three segments:
Hospital Operations and other, which is comprised of our acute care and specialty hospitals, ancillary outpatient facilities, urgent care centers, microhospitals and physician practices. As described in Note 4 to the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, certain of our facilities are classified as held for sale at September 30, 2018.

Ambulatory Care, which is comprised of USPI’s ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, imaging centers and surgical hospitals (and also included nine facilities in the United Kingdom until we divested Aspen effective August 17, 2018).
Conifer, which provides healthcare business process services in the areas of hospital and physician revenue cycle management and value-based care solutions to healthcare systems, as well as individual hospitals, physician practices, self-insured organizations, health plans and other entities.
 

Hospital Operations and Other Segment
 
The following tables show operating statistics of our continuing operations hospitals and related outpatient facilities on a same-hospital basis, unless otherwise indicated, which includes the results of our same 6865 hospitals operated throughout the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017. The2018. Our same-hospital information excludes the results of three Houston-area hospitals, which we divested effective August 1, 2017, Abrazo Maryvale Campus, which we closed in December 2017, two Philadelphia-area hospitals, which we divested effective January 11, 2018, MacNeal Hospital, which we divested effective March 1, 2018, and Des Peres Hospital, which we divested effective May 1, 2018, are excluded from our same-hospital information. In addition, although we operated four North Texasand three Chicago-area hospitals, throughout the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and from January 1 through February 28, 2018, we did not consolidate the results of operations of these hospitals becausewhich we divested a controlling interest in them effective January 1, 2016.28, 2019.
 
Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 
Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 
Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 
Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Admissions, Patient Days and Surgeries 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2018 2017 
Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 
Increase
(Decrease)
Number of hospitals (at end of period) 68
 68
 
(1) 68
 68
 
(1) 65
 65
 
(1) 65
 65
 
(1)
Total admissions 168,202
 171,766
 (2.1)% 514,526
 521,438
 (1.3)%  169,352
 163,903
 3.3 % 342,822
 337,587
 1.6 % 
Adjusted patient admissions(2)
 306,199
 305,300
 0.3 % 924,037
 921,715
 0.3 %  304,066
 297,460
 2.2 % 609,937
 601,605
 1.4 % 
Paying admissions (excludes charity and uninsured) 157,197
 161,743
 (2.8)% 483,655
 492,896
 (1.9)%  159,129
 153,816
 3.5 % 322,761
 318,055
 1.5 % 
Charity and uninsured admissions 11,005
 10,023
 9.8 % 30,871
 28,542
 8.2 %  10,223
 10,087
 1.3 % 20,061
 19,532
 2.7 % 
Admissions through emergency department 116,727
 112,210
 4.0 % 354,594
 337,463
 5.1 %  121,088
 111,902
 8.2 % 246,316
 231,859
 6.2 % 
Paying admissions as a percentage of total admissions 93.5% 94.2% (0.7)%(1) 94.0% 94.5% (0.5)%(1) 94.0% 93.8% 0.2 %(1) 94.1% 94.2% (0.1)%(1)
Charity and uninsured admissions as a percentage of total admissions 6.5% 5.8% 0.7 %(1) 6.0% 5.5% 0.5 %(1) 6.0% 6.2% (0.2)%(1) 5.9% 5.8% 0.1 %(1)
Emergency department admissions as a percentage of total admissions 69.4% 65.3% 4.1 %(1) 68.9% 64.7% 4.2 %(1) 71.5% 68.3% 3.2 %(1) 71.8% 68.7% 3.1 %(1)
Surgeries — inpatient 45,626
 47,315
 (3.6)% 137,623
 141,503
 (2.7)%  44,641
 45,191
 (1.2)% 89,194
 90,243
 (1.2)% 
Surgeries — outpatient 61,468
 61,562
 (0.2)% 186,132
 187,316
 (0.6)%  60,936
 62,205
 (2.0)% 118,832
 121,925
 (2.5)% 
Total surgeries 107,094
 108,877
 (1.6)% 323,755
 328,819
 (1.5)%  105,577
 107,396
 (1.7)% 208,026
 212,168
 (2.0)% 
Patient days — total 761,921
 789,040
 (3.4)% 2,368,366
 2,414,961
 (1.9)%  787,582
 743,442
 5.9 % 1,602,911
 1,560,442
 2.7 % 
Adjusted patient days(2)
 1,365,664
 1,379,096
 (1.0)% 4,186,068
 4,203,108
 (0.4)%  1,387,929
 1,329,915
 4.4 % 2,795,982
 2,735,483
 2.2 % 
Average length of stay (days) 4.53
 4.59
 (1.3)% 4.60
 4.63
 (0.6)%  4.65
 4.54
 2.4 % 4.68
 4.62
 1.3 % 
Licensed beds (at end of period) 17,934
 18,006
 (0.4)% 17,934
 18,006
 (0.4)%  17,221
 17,246
 (0.1)% 17,221
 17,246
 (0.1)% 
Average licensed beds 17,934
 18,007
 (0.4)% 17,942
 17,983
 (0.2)%  17,221
 17,246
 (0.1)% 17,221
 17,246
 (0.1)% 
Utilization of licensed beds(3)
 46.2% 47.6% (1.4)%(1) 48.4% 49.2% (0.8)%(1) 50.3% 47.4% 2.9 %(1) 51.4% 50.0% 1.4 %(1)
   
(1)The change is the difference between 20182019 and 20172018 amounts shown.
(2)Adjusted patient admissions/days represents actual patient admissions/days adjusted to include outpatient services provided by facilities in our Hospital Operations and other segment by multiplying actual patient admissions/days by the sum of gross inpatient revenues and outpatient revenues and dividing the results by gross inpatient revenues.
(3)Utilization of licensed beds represents patient days divided by number of days in the period divided by average licensed beds.

 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Outpatient Visits 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
Total visits 1,722,292
 1,715,650
 0.4 % 5,264,505
 5,293,076
 (0.5)%  1,693,805
 1,673,056
 1.2 % 3,380,669
 3,389,952
 (0.3)% 
Paying visits (excludes charity and uninsured) 1,607,180
 1,600,195
 0.4 % 4,919,392
 4,951,644
 (0.7)%  1,581,555
 1,560,950
 1.3 % 3,159,190
 3,168,144
 (0.3)% 
Charity and uninsured visits 115,112
 115,455
 (0.3)% 345,113
 341,432
 1.1 %  112,250
 112,106
 0.1 % 221,479
 221,808
 (0.1)% 
Emergency department visits 638,248
 627,415
 1.7 % 1,963,474
 1,923,995
 2.1 %  637,107
 622,898
 2.3 % 1,288,959
 1,286,620
 0.2 % 
Surgery visits 61,468
 61,562
 (0.2)% 186,132
 187,316
 (0.6)%  60,936
 62,205
 (2.0)% 118,832
 121,925
 (2.5)% 
Paying visits as a percentage of total visits 93.3% 93.3%  %
(1) 
 93.4% 93.5% (0.1)%
(1) 
 93.4% 93.3% 0.1 %
(1) 
 93.4% 93.5% (0.1)%
(1) 
Charity and uninsured visits as a percentage of total visits 6.7% 6.7%  %
(1) 
 6.6% 6.5% 0.1 %
(1) 
 6.6% 6.7% (0.1)%
(1) 
 6.6% 6.5% 0.1 %
(1) 
   
(1)The change is the difference between 20182019 and 20172018 amounts shown.

 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Revenues 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
Total segment net operating revenues(1)
 $3,613
 $3,367
 7.3% $10,899
 $10,350
 5.3% $3,681
 $3,477
 5.9% $7,371
 $7,077
 4.2%
Selected revenue data – hospitals and related outpatient facilities                        
Net patient revenues(1)(2)
 $3,432
 $3,237
 6.0% $10,434
 $9,905
 5.3%
Net patient revenue per adjusted patient
admission
(1)(2)
 $11,208
 $10,603
 5.7% $11,292
 $10,746
 5.1%
Net patient revenue per adjusted patient day(1)(2)
 $2,513
 $2,347
 7.1% $2,493
 $2,357
 5.8%
Net patient service revenues(1)(2)
 $3,547
 $3,357
 5.7% $7,104
 $6,850
 3.7%
Net patient service revenue per adjusted patient admission(1)(2)
 $11,665
 $11,286
 3.4% $11,647
 $11,386
 2.3%
Net patient service revenue per adjusted patient day(1)(2)
 $2,556
 $2,524
 1.3% $2,541
 $2,504
 1.5%
   
(1)Revenues are net of implicit price concessions and provision for doubtful accounts.concessions.
(2)Adjusted patient admissions/days represents actual patient admissions/days adjusted to include outpatient services provided by facilities in our Hospital Operations and other segment by multiplying actual patient admissions/days by the sum of gross inpatient revenues and outpatient revenues and dividing the results by gross inpatient revenues.
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Same-Hospital
Continuing Operations
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Total Segment Selected Operating Expenses 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2018 2017 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
 2019 2018 Increase
(Decrease)
Salaries, wages and benefits as a percentage of net operating revenues 48.3% 51.0% (2.7)%(1) 48.6% 50.4% (1.8)%(1) 49.0% 49.1% (0.1)%(1) 48.9% 48.8% 0.1 %(1)
Supplies as a percentage of net operating revenues 17.2% 17.6% (0.4)%(1) 17.5% 17.5%  %(1) 17.5% 17.9% (0.4)%(1) 17.4% 17.7% (0.3)%(1)
Other operating expenses as a percentage of net operating revenues 25.7% 23.8% 1.9 %(1) 24.1% 24.1%  %(1) 24.2% 23.2% 1.0 %(1) 24.5% 22.8% 1.7 %(1)
   
(1)The change is the difference between 20182019 and 20172018 amounts shown.

    
Revenues

Same-hospital net operating revenues increased $246$204 million, or 7.3%5.9%, during the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, primarily due to improved volumes, a favorable change in payer mix, increased acuity and improved terms of our managed care contracts and California provider fee revenues. The 2018 period included $71 million of net revenues from the California provider fee program compared to no revenue recorded under this program in the 2017 period because the extension of the program had not yet been approved by CMS.contracts. Same-hospital admissions decreased 2.1%increased 3.3% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017.2018. Same-hospital outpatient visits increased 0.4%1.2% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017.prior-year period.

Same-hospital net operating revenues increased $549$294 million, or 5.3%4.2%, during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, primarily due to improved volumes, a favorable change in payer mix, increased acuity and improved terms of our managed care contracts and California provider fee revenues. The 2018 period included $198 million of net revenues from the California provider fee program compared to no revenue recorded under this programcontracts. Same-hospital admissions increased 1.6% in the 2017 period because the extension of the program had not yet been approved by CMS. Same-hospital admissions decreased 1.3% in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017.2018. Same-hospital outpatient visits decreased 0.5%0.3% in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017.prior-year period.


The following table shows the consolidated net accounts receivable by payer at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and the consolidated net accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts by payer at December 31, 2017:2018:
 September 30, 2018 December 31, 2017
 Accounts
Receivable
 
Accounts
Receivable
Before
Allowance
for Doubtful
Accounts
 
Allowance
for Doubtful
Accounts
 Net June 30, 2019 December 31, 2018
Medicare $205
 $257
 $
 $257
 $218
 $229
Medicaid 80
 95
 
 95
 74
 74
Net cost report settlements receivable and valuation allowances 7
 4
 
 4
 49
 18
Managed care 1,407
 1,709
 204
 1,505
 1,579
 1,467
Self-pay uninsured 29
 407
 351
 56
 37
 47
Self-pay balance after insurance 126
 240
 149
 91
 112
 94
Estimated future recoveries 139
 132
 
 132
 157
 148
Other payers 329
 453
 151
 302
 318
 325
Total Hospital Operations and other 2,322
 3,297
 855
 2,442
 2,544
 2,402
Ambulatory Care 160
 215
 43
 172
 188
 191
Total discontinued operations 2
 2
 
 2
 2
 2
 $2,484
 $3,514
 $898
 $2,616
 $2,734
 $2,595

For patient accounts receivable resulting from revenue recognized prior to January 1, 2018, an allowance for doubtful accounts was established to reduce the carrying value of such receivables to their estimated net realizable value. Generally, we estimated this allowance based on the aging of our accounts receivable by hospital, our historical collection experience by hospital and for each type of payer, and other relevant factors. Under the provisions of ASU 2014-09, which we adopted effective January 1, 2018, whenWhen we have an unconditional right to payment, subject only to the passage of time, the right is treated as a receivable. Patient accounts receivable, including billed accounts and certain unbilled accounts, for which we have the unconditional right to payment, andas well as estimated amounts due from third-party payers for retroactive adjustments, are receivables if our right to consideration is unconditional and only the passage of time is required before payment of that consideration is due. For patient accounts receivable subsequent to our adoption of ASU 2014-09 on January 1, 2018, the estimatedEstimated uncollectable amounts are generally considered implicit price concessions that are a direct reduction to patient accounts receivable rather than allowance for doubtful accounts. Under the provisions of ASU 2014-09, amountsAmounts related to services provided to patients for which we have not billed and that do not meet the conditions of unconditional right to payment at the end of the reporting period are contract assets. For our Hospital Operations and other segment, our contract assets consist primarily of services that we have provided to patients who are still receiving inpatient care in our facilities at the end of the reporting period. Our Hospital Operations and other segment’s contract assets are included in other current assets onin the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at SeptemberJune 30, 2018. Prior to January 1, 2018, amounts related to services provided to patients for which we had not billed were included in accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts, on our consolidated balance sheets.2019.


Collection of accounts receivable has been a key area of focus, particularly over the past several years. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, our Hospital Operations and other segment collection rate on self-pay accounts was approximately 23.4%. Our self-pay collection rate includes payments made by patients, including co-pays, co-insurance amounts and deductibles paid by patients with insurance. Based on our accounts receivable from self-payuninsured patients and co-pays, co-insurance amounts and deductibles owed to us by patients with insurance at SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, a 10% decrease or increase in our self-pay collection rate, or approximately 3%2%, which we believe could be a reasonably likely change, would result in an unfavorable or favorable adjustment to patient accounts receivable of approximately $11$9 million. There are various factors that can impact collection trends, such as changes in the economy, which in turn have an impact on unemployment rates and the number of uninsured and underinsured patients, the volume of patients through our emergency departments, the increased burden of co-pays and deductibles to be made by patients with insurance, and business practices related to collection efforts. These factors continuously change and can have an impact on collection trends and our estimation process.

Payment pressure from managed care payers also affects the collectability of our accounts receivable. We typically experience ongoing managed care payment delays and disputes; however, we continue to work with these payers to obtain adequate and timely reimbursement for our services. Our estimated Hospital Operations and other segment collection rate from managed care payers was approximately 98.5%98.1% at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019.
 
We manage our implicit price concessions using hospital-specific goals and benchmarks such as (1) total cash collections, (2) point-of-service cash collections, (3) AR Days and (4) accounts receivable by aging category. The following tables present the approximate aging by payer of our net accounts receivable from the continuing operations of our Hospital Operations and other segment of $2.315$2.495 billion and $2.438$2.384 billion at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017,2018, respectively, excluding cost report settlements receivable and valuation allowances of $7$49 million and $4$18 million, respectively, at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 2017:2018:
 September 30, 2018 June 30, 2019
 Medicare Medicaid Managed
Care
 Indemnity,
Self-Pay
and Other
 Total Medicare Medicaid Managed
Care
 Indemnity,
Self-Pay
and Other
 Total
0-60 days(1)
 88% 53% 58% 29% 54% 89% 56% 57% 23% 52%
61-120 days 6% 21% 15% 17% 15% 5% 21% 17% 15% 16%
121-180 days 2% 11% 9% 10% 8% 3% 9% 10% 10% 9%
Over 180 days 4% 15% 18% 44% 23% 3% 14% 16% 52% 23%
Total
 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
 
(1)The 0-60 days aging category has been impacted by the reclassification of certain unbilled accounts to contract assets due to the adoption of ASU 2014-09 effective January 1, 2018. See Notes 1 and 3 to our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

 December 31, 2017 December 31, 2018
 Medicare Medicaid Managed
Care
 Indemnity,
Self-Pay
and Other
 Total Medicare Medicaid Managed
Care
 Indemnity,
Self-Pay
and Other
 Total
0-60 days 89% 66% 65% 28% 60% 89% 51% 60% 29% 56%
61-120 days 6% 16% 14% 17% 13% 6% 24% 14% 18% 15%
121-180 days 2% 10% 7% 9% 7% 2% 10% 8% 11% 8%
Over 180 days 3% 8% 14% 46% 20% 3% 15% 18% 42% 21%
Total
 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
 
Conifer continues to implement revenue cycle initiatives to improve our cash flow. These initiatives are focused on standardizing and improving patient access processes, including pre-registration, registration, verification of eligibility and benefits, liability identification and collections at point-of-service, and financial counseling. These initiatives are intended to reduce denials, improve service levels to patients and increase the quality of accounts that end up in accounts receivable. Although we continue to focus on improving our methodology for evaluating the collectability of our accounts receivable, we may incur future charges if there are unfavorable changes in the trends affecting the net realizable value of our accounts receivable.

At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we had a cumulative total of patient account assignments to Conifer of approximately $2.517$2.6 billion related to our continuing operations. These accounts have already been written off and are not included in our receivables or in the allowance for doubtful accounts; however, an estimate of future recoveries from all the accounts assigned to Conifer is determined based on our historical experience and recorded in accounts receivable. 
    
Patient advocates from Conifer’s Medicaid Eligibility Program (“MEP”) screen patients in the hospital to determine whether those patients meet eligibility requirements for financial assistance programs. They also expedite the process of applying for these government programs. Receivables from patients who are potentially eligible for Medicaid are classified as

Medicaid pending, under the MEP, with appropriate contractual allowances recorded. Based on recent trends, approximately 96% of all accounts in the MEP are ultimately approved for benefits under a government program, such as Medicaid. The following table shows the approximate amount of accounts receivable in the MEP still awaiting determination of eligibility under a government program at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and December 31, 20172018 by aging category for the hospitals currently in the program:
 September 30, December 31, June 30, December 31,
 2018 2017 2019 2018
0-60 days  $71
 $81
 $75
 $72
61-120 days 10
 12
 8
 16
121-180 days 3
 3
 3
 3
Over 180 days 3
 4
 4
 5
Total
 $87
 $100
 $90
 $96

Salaries, Wages and Benefits
 
Same-hospital salaries, wages and benefits as a percentage of net operating revenues decreased 270by 10 basis points to 48.3%49.0% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017. Same-hospital2018. The change was primarily due to annual merit increases for certain of our employees and increased workers’ compensation costs as a result of favorable experience in the prior-year period, offset by an increase in same-hospital net operating revenues increased 7.3% during the three months ended September 30, 2018 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2017, and same-hospital salaries, wages and benefits increased 1.7% in the three months ended September 30, 2018 compared to the 2017 period. The change in same-hospital salaries, wages and benefits as a percentage of net operating revenues was primarily due to the impact of previously announced workforce reductions as part of our enterprise-wide cost reduction initiatives and the impact of favorable workers’ compensation claims experience, partially offset by annual merit increases for certain of our employees and increased health benefits costs.initiatives. Salaries, wages and benefits expense for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 20172018 included stock-based compensation expense of $7$10 million and $10$8 million, respectively.

Same-hospital salaries, wages and benefits as a percentage of net operating revenues decreased 180increased by 10 basis points to 48.6%48.9% in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017. Same-hospital2018. The change was primarily due to annual merit increases for certain of our employees and increased workers’ compensation costs as a result of favorable experience in the prior-year period, offset by an increase in same-hospital net operating revenues increased 5.3% during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2017, and same-hospital salaries, wages and benefits increased 1.6% in the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to the 2017 period. The change in same-hospital salaries, wages and benefits as a percentage of net operating revenues was primarily due to the impact of previously announced workforce reductions as part of our enterprise-wide cost reduction initiatives and the impact of favorable workers’ compensation claims experience, partially offset by annual merit increases for certain of our employees and increased health benefits costs.initiatives. Salaries, wages and benefits expense for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 20172018 included stock-based compensation expense of $20$16 million and $32$13 million, respectively.

At September 30, 2018, approximately 25% of the employees in our Hospital Operations and other segment were represented by labor unions. Less than 1% of employees in our Ambulatory Care and Conifer segments belong to a union. Unionized employees – primarily registered nurses and service, technical and maintenance workers – are located at 33 of our hospitals, the majority of which are in California, Florida and Michigan. We currently have eight expired contracts covering approximately 14% of our unionized employees and are or will be negotiating renewals under extension agreements. We are also negotiating (or will soon negotiate) five first contracts at five hospitals where employees recently selected union representation; these contracts will cover nearly 5% of our unionized employees. At this time, we are unable to predict the outcome of the negotiations, but increases in salaries, wages and benefits could result from these agreements. Furthermore, there is a possibility that strikes could occur during the negotiation process, which could increase our labor costs and have an adverse effect on our patient admissions and net operating revenues. Organizing activities by labor unions could increase our level of union representation in future periods.

Supplies
 
Same-hospital supplies expense as a percentage of net operating revenues decreased by 40 basis points to 17.2%17.5% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the same period in 2017.2018. Same-hospital supplies expense as a percentage of net operating revenues was 17.5% for both ofdecreased by 30 basis points to 17.4% in the nine month periodssix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018 and 2017.2019 compared to the same period in 2018. Supplies expense was impacted by the benefits of the group-purchasing strategies and supplies-management services we utilize to reduce costs, partially offset by increased costs from certain higher acuity supply-intensive surgical services.


We strive to control supplies expense through product standardization, consistent contract compliance,terms and end-to-end contract management, improved utilization, bulk purchases, focused spending with a smaller number of vendors and operational improvements. The items of current cost reduction focus continue to be cardiac stents and pacemakers, orthopedics, and implants, and high-cost pharmaceuticals.

Other Operating Expenses, Net
 
Same-hospital other operating expenses as a percentage of net operating revenues increased 190by 100 basis points to 25.7%24.2% in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to 23.8%23.2% in the same period in 2017.2018. Same-hospital other operating expenses increased by $129$84 million, or 16.1%, and net operating revenues increased by $246 million, or 7.3%10.4%, for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. The changes in other operating expenses included:

increased malpractice expensemedical fees of $53 million to settle various claims;$17 million;

increased medicalsoftware costs of $13 million;

increased legal and consulting fees of $49 million, due in part to unfavorable claims experience on risk-based capitated contracts in California; and$13 million;

increased technology and software costs expenses of $196 million; partially offset by related to our risk contracting business in California; and
gains on the sales
increased malpractice expense of assets of $19 million in the 2018 period primarily related to the sale of an equity method investment.$5 million.
 
Same-hospital malpractice expense in the 20182019 period included a favorablean unfavorable adjustment of approximately $5$10 million from a 2044 basis point increasedecrease in the interest rate used to estimate the discounted present value of projected future malpractice liabilities. In the 20172018 period, we recognized a favorable adjustment of approximately $1$3 million from a two13 basis point increase in the discounted present value of projected future malpractice liabilities.

Same-hospital other operating expenses as a percentage of net operating revenues was 24.1% for both ofincreased by 170 basis points to 24.5% in the nine month periodssix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018 and 2017.2019 compared to 22.8% in the same period in 2018. Same-hospital other operating expenses increased by $134$196 million, or 5.4%, and net operating revenues increased by $549 million, or 5.3%12.2%, for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. The changes in other operating expenses included:

increased malpractice expense of $64 million to settle various claims;$47 million;

increased medical fees of $75$42 million;

increased software costs of $20 million;

increased expenses of $18 million due in partrelated to unfavorable claims experience on risk-based capitated contractsour risk contracting business in California; and

increased technology and software costs of $36 million; partially offset by

decreased expenses associated with our health plan businessesincreased legal and consulting fees of $99 million due to the sale and wind-down of these businesses in 2017.$11 million.
 
Same-hospital malpractice expense in the 20182019 period included a favorablean unfavorable adjustment of approximately $18$17 million from a 6872 basis point increasedecrease in the interest rate used to estimate the discounted present value of projected future malpractice liabilities. In the 20172018 period, we recognized an unfavorablea favorable adjustment of approximately $1$13 million from a nine48 basis point decreaseincrease in the discounted present value of projected future malpractice liabilities.


Ambulatory Care Segment
 
Our Ambulatory Care segment is comprised of USPI’s ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, imaging centers and surgical hospitals. Our Ambulatory Care segment also included nine facilities in the United Kingdom until we divested Aspen effective August 17, 2018. USPI operates its surgical facilities in partnership with local physicians and, in many of these facilities, a healthcare system partner. We hold an ownership interest in each facility, with each being operated through a separate legal entity in most cases. USPI operates facilities on a day-to-day basis through management services contracts. Our sources of earnings from each facility consist of:
management services revenues, computed as a percentage of each facility’s net revenues (often net of implicit price concessions); and

our share of each facility’s net income (loss), which is computed by multiplying the facility’s net income (loss) times the percentage of each facility’s equity interests owned by USPI.
 
Our role as an owner and day-to-day manager provides us with significant influence over the operations of each facility. InFor many of the facilities our Ambulatory Care segment operates (107(112 of 335344 facilities at SeptemberJune 30, 2018)2019), this influence does not represent control of the facility, so we account for our investment in the facility under the equity method for an unconsolidated affiliate. USPI controls 228232 of the facilities our Ambulatory Care segment operates, and we account for these investments as consolidated subsidiaries. Our net earnings from a facility are the same under either method, but the classification of those earnings differs. For consolidated subsidiaries, our financial statements reflect 100% of the revenues and expenses of the subsidiaries, after the elimination of intercompany amounts. The net profit attributable to owners other than USPI is classified within “net income available to noncontrolling interests.”
 
For unconsolidated affiliates, our consolidated statements of operations reflect our earnings in two line items:
 
equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates—our share of the net income (loss) of each facility, which is based on the facility’s net income (loss) and the percentage of the facility’s outstanding equity interests owned by us;USPI; and
 
management and administrative services revenues, which is included in our net operating revenues—income we earn in exchange for managing the day-to-day operations of each facility, usually quantified as a percentage of each facility’s net revenues less implicit price concessions.
 
Our Ambulatory Care segment operating income is driven by the performance of all facilities USPI operates and by USPI’s ownership interests in those facilities, but our individual revenue and expense line items contain only consolidated businesses, which represent 68%67% of those facilities. This translates to trends in consolidated operating income that often do not correspond with changes in consolidated revenues and expenses.expenses, which is why we disclose certain statistical and financial data on a pro forma systemwide basis that includes both consolidated and unconsolidated (equity method) facilities.
 
Results of Operations
 
The following table summarizes certain consolidated statements of operations items for the periods indicated:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
Ambulatory Care Results of Operations 2018 2017 Increase (Decrease) 2018 2017 Increase (Decrease) 2019 2018 Increase (Decrease) 2019 2018 Increase (Decrease)
Net operating revenues $502
 $468
 7.3 % $1,531
 $1,395
 9.7% $524
 $531
 (1.3)% $1,004
 $1,029
 (2.4)%
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates $31
 $34
 (8.8)% $91
 $91
 % $34
 $33
 3.0 % $65
 $60
 8.3 %
Salaries, wages and benefits $157
 $155
 1.3 % $484
 $458
 5.7% $157
 $165
 (4.8)% $310
 $327
 (5.2)%
Supplies $104
 $95
 9.5 % $316
 $285
 10.9% $108
 $106
 1.9 % $207
 $212
 (2.4)%
Other operating expenses, net $88
 $93
 (5.4)% $275
 $267
 3.0% $86
 $95
 (9.5)% $168
 $187
 (10.2)%
 
Our Ambulatory Care net operating revenues increased $34 million and $136decreased by $7 million, or 7.3% and 9.7%, for1.3% during the three and nine months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018, respectively,2019 as compared to the three and nine months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017, respectively.2018. The growth in 2018 revenueschange was driven by increasesa decrease of $47 million due to the sale of Aspen and a decrease of $16 million due to the deconsolidation of a facility, partially offset by an increase in same-facility net operating revenues of $35$27 million and an increase from acquisitions of $29 million for the three month period. Our Ambulatory Care net operating revenues decreased by $25 million, or 2.4% during the six months ended June 30, 2019 as

compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018. The change was driven by a decrease of $96 million partially offset by decreases due to the sale of Aspen and a decrease of $21$31 million due to the deconsolidation of a facility, partially offset by an increase in same-facility net operating revenues of $48 million and $12 million, in each case for the three and nine month periods, respectively. Acquisitions increased 2018 revenues by $20 million and $52an increase from acquisitions of $54 million for the three and ninesix month periods, respectively.period.
 
Salaries, wages and benefits expense increaseddecreased by $2 million and $26$8 million, or 1.3% and 5.7%, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively, compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. The change4.8% during the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018. The change was driven by a decrease of $18 million due to the sale of Aspen and a decrease of $4 million due to the deconsolidation of a facility, partially offset by an increase in same-facility salaries, wages and benefits expense of $5$7 million and an increase from acquisitions of $5$7 million for the three month period. Salaries, wages and benefits expense decreased by $17 million, or 5.2% during the six months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018. The change was driven by a decrease of $36 million due to the sale of Aspen and a decrease of $8 million. The change duringmillion due to the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was drivendeconsolidation of a facility, partially offset by an increase in same-facility salaries, wages and benefits expense of $15$14 million and an increase from acquisitions of $15$13 million and a decrease due tofor the sale of Aspen of $4 million.six month period.
 
Supplies expense increased by $9 million and $31$2 million, or 9.5% and 10.9%, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively, compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. The change1.9% during the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018. The change was driven by an increase in same-facility supplies expense of $9 million

and an increase from acquisitions of $5$7 million, andpartially offset by a decrease of $10 million due to the sale of Aspen and a decrease of $4 million due to the deconsolidation of a facility for the three month period. Supplies expense decreased by $5 million.million, or 2.4%, for the six months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018. The change duringwas driven by a decrease of $21 million due to the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was drivensale of Aspen and a decrease of $8 million due to the deconsolidation of a facility, partially offset by an increase in same-facility supplies expense of $22$12 million and an increase from acquisitions of $12 million and a decrease due tofor the sale of Aspen of $3 million.six month period.

Other operating expenses decreased by $5$9 million, or 5.4%, and increased by $8 million, or 3.0%, for9.5% during the three and nine months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018, respectively,2019 as compared to the three and nine months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017, respectively.2018. The change for the three months ended September 30, 2018 was driven by a decrease in same-facility other operating expenses of $2$13 million an increase from acquisitions of $3 million and a decrease due to the sale of Aspen and a decrease of $6 million. The change for$3 million due to the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was drivendeconsolidation of a facility, partially offset by an increase in same-facility other operating expenses of $1$2 million and an increase from acquisitions of $10$5 million andfor the three month period. Other operating expenses decreased by $19 million, or 10.2% during the six months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018. The change was driven by a decrease of $26 million due to the sale of Aspen and a decrease of $3 million.$6 million due to the deconsolidation of a facility, partially offset by an increase in same-facility other operating expenses of $4 million and an increase from acquisitions of $9 million for the six month period.
 
Facility Growth
 
The following table summarizes the changes in our same-facility revenue year-over-year on a pro forma systemwide basis, which includes both consolidated and unconsolidated (equity method) facilities. While we do not record the revenues of unconsolidated facilities, we believe this information is important in understanding the financial performance of our Ambulatory Care segment because these revenues are the basis for calculating our management services revenues and, together with the expenses of our unconsolidated facilities, are the basis for our equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates.
Ambulatory Care Facility Growth Three Months Ended
September 30, 2018
 Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2018
 Three Months Ended
June 30, 2019
 Six Months Ended
June 30, 2019
Net revenues 6.7% 5.6% 5.3% 4.8%
Cases 5.0% 4.3% 3.2% 2.1%
Net revenue per case 1.6% 1.3% 2.0% 2.7%
 

Joint Ventures with Healthcare System Partners
 
USPI’s business model is to jointly own its facilities with local physicians and, in many of these facilities, a not-for-profit healthcare system partner. Accordingly, as of SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, the majority of facilities in our Ambulatory Care segment are operated in this model.
Ambulatory Care Facilities NineSix Months Ended
SeptemberJune 30, 20182019
Facilities:  
With a healthcare system partner 205214
Without a healthcare system partner 130
Total facilities operated 335344
Change from December 31, 20172018  
Acquisitions 75
De novo 76
Dispositions/Mergers (124)
Total increase in number of facilities operated 27

During the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018, we sold our nine Aspen facilities in the United Kingdom, and2019, we acquired controlling interests in an ophthalmology surgery center in Pennsylvania, a single-specialty spine surgery center in Georgia,two multi-specialty surgery centers in Florida and Texas,Virginia and a single specialty gastroenterologymulti-specialty surgery center in Florida. We paid cash totaling approximately $89$10 million for these acquisitions. We also acquired a noncontrolling ownershipcontrolling interest in atwo multi-specialty surgery centercenters located in California, for approximately $7 million. All six facilities are jointly owned with local physicians.

Also during the nine months ended September 30, 2018, we acquired controlling interests in four facilities in which we already had an equity method investment. Theseinvestment, for a minimal cash outlay. All of these acquired facilities are jointly owned with local physicians and a healthcare system partner is an owner in all of the facilities except the facility in Florida. During the six months ended June 30, 2019, we acquired noncontrolling interests in a multi-specialty surgery centers arecenter and a single-specialty endoscopy center, both located in New Jersey and Georgia.Jersey. We paid cash totaling approximately $7 million for the additionalthese ownership interests. All fourBoth facilities are jointly owned with local physicians. Furthermore, during the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Ambulatory Care segment acquired the non-controlling interest in Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Sunnyvale, a surgical hospital in Texas, previously held by the Hospital Operations and other segment. The facility is jointly owned with local physicians and a healthcare system partner.


We also regularly engage in the purchase of equity interests with respect to our investments in unconsolidated affiliates and consolidated facilities that do not result in a change of control. These transactions are primarily the acquisitions of equity interests in ambulatory care facilities and the investment of additional cash in facilities that need capital for acquisitions, new construction or other business growth opportunities. During the six months ended June 30, 2019, we invested approximately $9 million in such transactions.
Conifer Segment
 
Our Conifer segment generated net operating revenues of $371$355 million and $401$386 million during the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively, and $1.161 billion$704 million and $1.203 billion$790 million during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively, a portion of which was eliminated in consolidation as described in Note 1819 to the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Conifer revenues from third-party customers, which are not eliminated in consolidation, decreased $27$33 million and $84 million, or 10.7%13.6% and 16.9%, for the three and six months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019, respectively, compared to the three and six months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. Conifer revenues from third-party customers were negatively impacted by contract terminations related to the sales of customer hospitals offset byin the impact of the divestiture of former Tenet facilities that have now become third-party customers. Conifer revenues from third-party customers decreased $19 million, or 2.6%, for the nine months ended September 30, 20182019 periods compared to the nine2018 periods, as well as $17 million in contract termination payments in the six months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017, due primarily to contract terminations related to the sale of customer hospitals to healthcare systems that chose to insource revenue cycle management.2018.
 
Salaries, wages and benefits expense for Conifer decreased $17$27 million, or 7.4%12.6%, in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, and decreased $78$67 million, or 10.7%15.3%, in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, in both cases primarily due to the impact of contract terminations and previously announced workforce reductions as part of our enterprise-wide cost reduction initiatives.
 
Other operating expenses for Conifer decreased $15$16 million, or 16.5%20.0%, in the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, and decreased $31 million, or 11.7%19.5%, in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2018, in both cases primarily due to the impact of contract terminations and our enterprise-wide cost reduction initiatives.
    

Consolidated 

Impairment and Restructuring Charges, and Acquisition-Related Costs

During the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $36 million, consisting of $4 million of impairment charges, $31 million of restructuring charges and $1 million of acquisition-related costs. Restructuring charges consisted of $11 million of employee severance costs, $1 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $19 million of other restructuring costs. Acquisition-related costs consisted of $1 million of transaction costs. Our impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs for the three months ended June 30, 2019 were comprised of $26 million from our Hospital Operations and other segment, $2 million from our Ambulatory Care segment and $8 million from our Conifer segment.

During the three months ended June 30, 2018, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $46$30 million, consisting of $6$4 million of impairment charges, $35$22 million of restructuring charges and $5$4 million of acquisition-related costs. Impairment charges consisted primarily of $5$4 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for Aspen and $1 million of other impairment charges.Aspen. Restructuring charges consisted of $21$9 million of employee severance costs, $5$4 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $9 million of other restructuring costs. Acquisition-related costs consisted of $3 million of transaction costs and $2$1 million of acquisition integration charges. Our impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs for the three months ended June 30, 2018 were comprised of $17 million from our Hospital Operations and other segment, $6 million from our Ambulatory Care segment and $7 million from our Conifer segment.

During the threesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017,2019, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $329$55 million, consisting of $309$5 million of impairment charges, $17$47 million of restructuring charges and $3 million of acquisition-related costs. Impairment charges consisted primarily of approximately $294 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for our Aspen and Philadelphia-area facilities, $14 million of impairment of two equity method investments and $1 million to write-down intangible assets. Restructuring charges consisted of $10$18 million of employee severance costs, $1$2 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $6$27 million of other restructuring costs. Acquisition-related costs consisted of $3 million of transaction costs. Our impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs for the six months ended June 30, 2019 were comprised of $36 million from our Hospital Operations and other segment, $5 million from our Ambulatory Care segment and $14 million from our Conifer segment.

During the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $123$77 million, consisting of $29$23 million of impairment charges, $82$47 million of restructuring charges and $12$7 million of acquisition-related costs. Impairment charges consisted primarily of $17 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for certain of our Chicago-area facilities, $9$4 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for Aspen and $3$2 million of other impairment charges. Restructuring charges consisted of $47$26 million of employee severance costs, $10$5 million of contract and lease termination fees, and $25 million of other restructuring costs. Acquisition-related costs consisted of $8 million of transaction costs and $4 million of acquisition integration charges.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2017, we recorded impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs of $403 million, consisting of $326 million of impairment charges, $61 million of restructuring charges and $16 million of acquisition-related costs. Impairment charges consisted primarily of approximately $294 million of charges to write-down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, less estimated costs to sell, for our Aspen and Philadelphia-area facilities, $29 million of impairment of two equity method investments and $3 million to write-down intangible assets. Restructuring charges consisted of $40 million of employee severance costs, $8 million of contract and lease termination fees,

and $13 million of other restructuring costs. Acquisition-related costs consisted of $5 million of transaction costs and $11$2 million of acquisition integration charges. Our impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs for the six months ended June 30, 2018 were comprised of $58 million from our Hospital Operations and other segment, $7 million from our Ambulatory Care segment and $12 million from our Conifer segment.

Litigation and Investigation Costs

Litigation and investigation costs for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018 and 2017 were $9$18 million and $6$13 million, respectively. Litigation and investigation costs for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018 and 2017 were $28$31 million and $12$19 million, respectively. The increased costs in the 2018 period relate primarily to attorneys’ fees associated with internal investigations performed pursuant to our non-prosecution agreement (the “NPA”), as well as attorneys’ fees associated with our indemnification obligations with respect to two former employees in connection with criminal charges for conduct described in the NPA.

Net Losses (Gains) on Sales, Consolidation and Deconsolidation of Facilities

During the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we recorded net losses on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities of approximately $7$1 million, primarily comprised of a $2 million loss related to consolidation changes of certain USPI businesses due to a post-closing adjustment to the gainownership changes, partially offset by $1 million of gains on the sale of MacNeal Hospital.our Chicago-area facilities.

During the three months ended September 30, 2017, we recorded net gains on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities of approximately $104 million, primarily comprised of a $111 million gain from the sale of our hospitals, physician practices and related assets in Houston, Texas and the surrounding area.

During the nine months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018, we recorded net gains on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities of approximately $111$8 million, primarily due to a $12 million gain from the sale of Des Peres Hospital, physician practices and other hospital-affiliated operations in St. Louis, Missouri.

During the six months ended June 30, 2019, we recorded net losses on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities of approximately $2 million, primarily comprised of a $6 million loss on the sale of our Chicago-area facilities,

partially offset by $3 million of gains related to consolidation changes of certain USPI businesses due to ownership changes, as well as post-closing adjustments on several other recent divestitures.

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, we recorded net gains on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities of approximately $118 million, primarily comprised of gains of $88$95 million from the sale of MacNeal Hospital and other operations affiliated with the hospital in the Chicago area, $13 million from the sales of our minority interests in four North Texas hospitals and $12 million from the sale of Des Peres Hospital, physician practices and other hospital-affiliated operations in St. Louis, Missouri.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2017, we recorded net gains on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities of approximately $142 million, primarily comprised of gains of $111 million from the sale of our hospitals, physician practices and related assets in Houston, Texas and the surrounding area, $13 million from the sale of one of our health plans in Arizona, $10 million from the sale of our health plan in Texas and $3 million from the sale of our health plans in Michigan.

Interest Expense

Interest expense for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 was $249$247 million compared to $257$254 million for the same period in 2017.2018. Interest expense for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 was $758$498 million compared to $775$509 million for the same period in 2017.2018.

Income Tax Expense

During the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we recorded income tax expense of $6$30 million in continuing operations on pre-tax income of $71$140 million compared to an income tax benefitexpense of $60$44 million on a pre-tax lossincome of $348$150 million during the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. During the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we recorded income tax expense of $120$47 million in continuing operations on pre-tax income of $481$214 million compared to an income tax benefitexpense of $105$114 million on a pre-tax lossincome of $325$410 million during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. The reconciliation between the amount of recorded income tax expense (benefit) and the amount calculated at the statutory federal tax rate is shown in the following table:

 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 2018 2017 2018 2017
Tax expense at statutory federal rate of 21% (35% for 2017)$15
 $(122) $101
 $(114)
State income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit3
 8
 20
 13
Tax benefit available to noncontrolling interests(15) (25) (49) (79)
Nondeductible goodwill
 104
 7
 104
Tax benefit related to loss on Aspen sale(18) 
 (18) 
Change in tax contingency reserves, including interest
 (1) 
 (3)
Stock-based compensation
 
 4
 9
Change in valuation allowance-interest expense limitation24
 
 54
 
Change in indefinite reinvestment assertion
 (30) 
 (30)
Change in valuation allowance-other
 (5) 
 (5)
Other items(3) 11
 1
 
Income tax expense (benefit)$6
 $(60) $120
 $(105)
  Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
  2019 2018 2019 2018
Tax expense at statutory federal rate of 21% $29
 $31
 $45
 $86
State income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit 6
 7
 9
 17
Tax attributable to noncontrolling interests (19) (16) (36) (34)
Nondeductible goodwill 
 2
 
 7
Nontaxable gains 
 
 (1) 
Stock-based compensation 1
 
 
 4
Change in valuation allowance-interest expense limitation 11
 18
 35
 30
Other items 2
 2
 (5) 4
Income tax expense $30
 $44
 $47
 $114

Net Income Available to Noncontrolling Interests

Net income available to noncontrolling interests was $74$95 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to $78$82 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. Net income available (loss attributable) to noncontrolling interests for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 was comprised of $(9)$(4) million related to our Hospital Operations and other segment, $70$78 million related to our Ambulatory Care segment and $13$21 million related to our Conifer segment. Of the portion related to our Ambulatory Care segment, $2$3 million was related to the minority interests in USPI.

Net income available to noncontrolling interests was $248$179 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to $254$174 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. Net income available (loss attributable) to noncontrolling interests for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 was comprised of $(11)$(8) million related to our Hospital Operations and other segment, $209$146 million related to our Ambulatory Care segment and $50$41 million related to our Conifer segment. Of the portion related to our Ambulatory Care segment, $15$6 million was related to the minority interests in USPI.

ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL NON-GAAP DISCLOSURES
 
The financial information provided throughout this report, including our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes thereto, has been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). However, we use certain non-GAAP financial measures defined below in communications with investors, analysts, rating agencies, banks and others to assist such parties in understanding the impact of various items on our financial statements, some of which are recurring or involve cash payments. We use this information in our analysis of the

performance of our business, excluding items we do not consider relevant to the performance of our continuing operations. In addition, we use these measures to define certain performance targets under our compensation programs.
 
“Adjusted EBITDA” is a non-GAAP measure defined by the Company as net income available (loss attributable) to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders before (1) the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principle, (2) net loss attributable (income available) to noncontrolling interests, (3) income (loss) from discontinued operations, (4) income tax benefit (expense), (5) gain (loss) from early extinguishment of debt, (6) other non-operating expense, net, (7) interest expense, (8) litigation and investigation (costs) benefit, net of insurance recoveries, (9) net gains (losses) on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities, (10) impairment and restructuring charges and acquisition-related costs, (11) depreciation and amortization, and (12) income (loss) from divested operations and closed businesses (i.e., our health plan businesses). Litigation and investigation costs do not include ordinary course of business malpractice and other litigation and related expense.
 
The Company believes the foregoing non-GAAP measure is useful to investors and analysts because it presents additional information about the Company’s financial performance. Investors, analysts, Company management and the Company’s board of directors utilize this non-GAAP measure, in addition to GAAP measures, to track the Company’s financial and operating performance and compare the Company’s performance to peer companies, which utilize similar non-GAAP measures in their presentations. The Human Resources Committeehuman resources committee of the Company’s board of directors also uses certain non-GAAP measures to evaluate management’s performance for the purpose of determining incentive compensation. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure, in part, because certain investors and analysts use both historical and projected Adjusted EBITDA, in addition to GAAP and other non-GAAP measures, as factors in determining the estimated fair value of shares of the Company’s common stock. Company management also regularly reviews the Adjusted EBITDA performance for each operating segment. The Company does not use Adjusted EBITDA to measure liquidity, but instead to

measure operating performance. The non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA measure the Company utilizes may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Because this measure excludes many items that are included in our financial statements, it does not provide a complete measure of our operating performance. Accordingly, investors are encouraged to use GAAP measures when evaluating the Company’s financial performance.
 

The following table below shows the reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income available (loss attributable) to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders (the most comparable GAAP term) for the three and ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017:2018:
 Three Months Ended
September 30,
 Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 Three Months Ended
June 30,
 Six Months Ended
June 30,
  
 2018 2017 2018 2017 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net income available (loss attributable) to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders $(9) $(367) $116
 $(475) $17
 $26
 $(2) $125
Less: Net income available to noncontrolling interests (74) (78) (248) (254) (95) (82) (179) (174)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax 
 (1) 3
 (1)
Income (loss) from continuing operations 65
 (288) 361
 (220)
Income tax benefit (expense) (6) 60
 (120) 105
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax 2
 2
 10
 3
Income from continuing operations 110
 106
 167
 296
Income tax expense (30) (44) (47) (114)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt 
 (138) (2) (164) 
 (1) (47) (2)
Other non-operating expense, net 
 (4) (2) (14) (1) (1) 
 (2)
Interest expense (249) (257) (758) (775) (247) (254) (498) (509)
Operating income 320
 51
 1,243
 628
 388
 406
 759
 923
Litigation and investigation costs (9) (6) (28) (12) (18) (13) (31) (19)
Net gains (losses) on sales, consolidation and deconsolidation of facilities (7) 104
 111
 142
 (1) 8
 (2) 118
Impairment and restructuring charges, and acquisition-related costs (46) (329) (123) (403) (36) (30) (55) (77)
Depreciation and amortization (204) (219) (602) (662) (214) (194) (422) (398)
Income (loss) from divested and closed businesses (i.e., the Company’s health plan businesses) 9
 (6) 9
 (41) 
 1
 (1) 
Adjusted EBITDA $577
 $507
 $1,876
 $1,604
 $657
 $634
 $1,270
 $1,299
                
Net operating revenues $4,489
 $4,586
 $13,694
 $14,201
 $4,560
 $4,506
 $9,105
 $9,205
Less: Net operating revenues from health plans 8
 10
 14
 100
 1
 
 1
 6
Adjusted net operating revenues $4,481
 $4,576
 $13,680
 $14,101
 $4,559
 $4,506
 $9,104
 $9,199
                
Net income available (loss attributable) to Tenet Healthcare Corporation common shareholders as a % of net operating revenues (0.2)% (8.0)% 0.8% (3.3)% 0.4% 0.6%  % 1.4%
                
Adjusted EBITDA as % of adjusted net operating revenues
(Adjusted EBITDA margin)
 12.9 % 11.1 % 13.7% 11.4 % 14.4% 14.1% 13.9 % 14.1%

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
 
CASH REQUIREMENTS
 
There have been no material changes to our obligations to make future cash payments under contracts, such as debt and lease agreements, and under contingent commitments, such as standby letters of credit and minimum revenue guarantees, as disclosed in our Annual Report, except for additional lease obligations and the purchase of long-term debt as discussedtransactions disclosed in NoteNotes 6 and 7, respectively, to our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

As part of our long-term objective to manage our capital structure, we may from time to time seek to retire, purchase, redeem or refinance some of our outstanding debt or equity securities subject to prevailing market conditions, our liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors. These actions are part of our strategy to manage our leverage and capital structure over time, which is dependent on our total amount of debt, our cash and our operating results. We continue to seek further initiatives to increase the efficiency of our balance sheet by generating incremental cash, including by means of the sale of underutilized or inefficient assets.
 
At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, using the last 12 months of Adjusted EBITDA, our ratio of total long-term debt, net of cash and cash equivalent balances, to Adjusted EBITDA was 5.70x, excluding nine months of California provider fee revenues

related to 2017 because the program was not approved by CMS until December 2017.5.82x. We anticipate this ratio will fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on earnings performance and other factors, including the use of our revolving credit facility as a source of liquidity and acquisitions that involve the assumption of long-term debt. We intend to manage this ratio by following our business plan, managing our cost structure, possible asset divestitures and through other changes in our capital structure, including, if appropriate, the issuance of equity or convertible securities. Our ability to achieve our leverage and capital structure objectives is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are described in the Risk Factors section in Part II of this report and the Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors sections in Part I of our Annual Report.

 
Our capital expenditures primarily relate to the expansion and renovation of existing facilities (including amounts to comply with applicable laws and regulations), equipment and information systems additions and replacements, introduction of new medical technologies, design and construction of new buildings, and various other capital improvements, as well as commitments to make capital expenditures in connection with the acquisitions of businesses. Capital expenditures were $404$336 million and $492$268 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively. We anticipate that our capital expenditures for continuing operations for the year ending December 31, 20182019 will total approximately $625$650 million to $675$700 million, including $117$135 million that was accrued as a liability at December 31, 2017.2018.We have been engaged in a series of legal challenges over the Certificate of Need that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control initially granted to us in 2005 to construct a new 100-bed acute care hospital in Fort Mill, South Carolina. We are unable to predict when these challenges will be resolved or if they will ultimately be resolved in our favor; however, if we prevail, we expect that we will begin construction of the hospital soon after resolution. Once construction begins, the hospital is expected to take up to two years to complete at a cost of approximately $170 million over the construction period.
 
Interest payments, net of capitalized interest, were $652$484 million and $617$501 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively.
 
Income tax payments, net of tax refunds, were approximately $24$13 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to $54$21 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018.
 
SOURCES AND USES OF CASH
 
Our liquidity for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 was primarily derived from net cash provided by operating activities, cash on hand and borrowings under our revolving credit facility. We had approximately $500$249 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand at SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 to fund our operations and capital expenditures, and our borrowing availability under our credit facility was $998$808 million based on our borrowing base calculation at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019.
 
Our primary source of operating cash is the collection of accounts receivable. As such, our operating cash flow is impacted by levels of cash collections, as well as levels of implicit price concessions, and bad debt, due to shifts in payer mix and other factors.
 
Net cash provided by operating activities was $799$294 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 compared to $709$461 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2017.2018. Key factors contributing to the change between the 20182019 and 20172018 periods include the following:

Increased netThe impact of an increase in AR Days outstanding;

Decreased cash receipts of $152$16 million related to the California provider fee program;

Additional interestIncreased payments of $35 million in the 2018 period primarily due to the six-month interest payment in January 2018 related to our 7.500% senior secured second lien notes due 2022, which were issued in December 2016; changes in the timing of certain interest payments as a result of our refinancing transactions in 2017 also impacted the year-over-year comparison;

$25 million of additional payments in the 2018 period for restructuring charges, acquisition-related costs, and litigation costs and settlements;

Lower income tax paymentssettlements of $30 million in the 2018 period;

Increased cash flows from our health plan businesses of approximately $100 million due to cash outflows in the 2017 period resulting from the sales and wind-down of these businesses in 2017, compared to negligible cash flows in the 2018 period;$17 million; and

The timing of other working capital items.


Net cash used in investing activities was $303 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 compared to net cash provided by investing activities was $120of $225 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2018 compared to $227 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.2018. The primary reason for the decrease was proceeds from sales of facilities and other assets of $498$40 million in the 2019 period when we completed the sale of three hospitals and hospital-affiliated operations in the Chicago area compared to proceeds from sales of facilities and other assets of $481 million in the 2018 period when we completed the sale of our hospitals, physician practices and related assets in the Philadelphia area, the sale of MacNeal Hospital and other operations affiliated with the hospital in the Chicago area, and the sale of Des Peres Hospital in St. Louis compared to proceeds from sales of facilities and other assets of $826 million in the 2017 period when we completed the sale of our hospitals, physician practices and related assets in Houston, Texas.Louis. There was an increasealso a decrease in proceeds from sales of marketable securities, long-term investments and other assets of $145$134 million in the 20182019 period compared to the 20172018 period primarily due to the sales of our minority interests in four North Texas hospitals.hospitals in the 2018 period. Capital expenditures were $404$336 million and $492$268 million in the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 and 2017,2018, respectively.
 
Net cash used in financing activities was $1.030 billion$153 million and $1.223 billion$894 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The 2019 amount included the proceeds from the issuance of $1.5 billion aggregate principal amount of 6.250% senior secured second lien notes due 2027, as well as the payments for our purchases of $300 million aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 6.750% senior notes due 2020, $750 million aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 7.500% senior secured second lien notes due 2022, and 2017, respectively.$468 million aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 5.500% senior unsecured notes due 2019. The 2019 amount also included net borrowings under our credit facility of $190 million. The 2018 amount included our purchase of approximately $68$30 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.875% senior unsecured notes due 2031, approximately $28 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.750% senior unsecured notes due 2023, and approximately $22 million aggregate principal amount of our 7.000% senior unsecured notes due 2025. The 2018 amount also

included $643$642 million related to purchases of noncontrolling interests, primarily our purchase of an additional 15% ownership interest in USPI and to settle the adjustment to the price we paid in 2017 based on actual 2017 financial results of USPI, compared to $722 million related to purchases of noncontrolling interests in the 2017 period, when we increased our ownership interest in USPI from approximately 56.3% to 80%. The 2017 amount also included our redemption of $250 million aggregate principal amount of our 8.000% senior unsecured notes due 2020 using cash on hand, as well as $912 million of payments to defease our floating rate senior secured notes due 2020, partially offset by $830 million proceeds from the issuance of our 4.625% senior secured notes due 2024. Additionally, the 2017 amount included our purchase of the land and improvements associated with our Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, which we previously leased under a capital lease, by retiring the lease obligation for approximately $44 million.USPI.
 
We record our marketable equity securities and our marketable debt securities that areclassified as available-for-sale at fair market value. The majority of our investments are valued based on quoted market prices or other observable inputs. We have no investments that we expect will be negatively affected by the current economic conditions such that they will materially impact our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
 
DEBT INSTRUMENTS, GUARANTEES AND RELATED COVENANTS
 
Senior Secured and Senior Unsecured Note Purchases—Refinancing Transactions. InOn February 5, 2019, we sold $1.5 billion aggregate principal amount of 6.250% senior secured second lien notes, which will mature on February 1, 2027 (the “2027 Senior Secured Second Lien Notes”). We will pay interest on the 2027 Senior Secured Second Lien Notes semi-annually in arrears on February 1 and August 2018, we purchased approximately $381 of each year, which payments commenced on August 1, 2019. The proceeds from the sale of the 2027 Senior Secured Second Lien Notes were used, after payment of fees and expenses, together with cash on hand and borrowings under our senior secured revolving credit facility, to fund the redemption of all $300 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.875%outstanding 6.750% senior unsecured notes due 2031 for approximately $36 million, including approximately $1 million in accrued2020 and unpaid interest through the dates of purchase. In May 2018, we purchased approximately $30all $750 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.875%outstanding 7.500% senior unsecuredsecured second lien notes due 2031 for approximately $28 million. In March 2018, we purchased approximately $282022, as well as the repayment upon maturity of all $468 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.750%outstanding 5.500% senior unsecured notes due 2023 and approximately $22 million aggregate principal amount of our 7.000% senior unsecured notes due 2025 for approximately $51 million, including approximately $1 million in accrued and unpaid interest through the dates of purchase.March 1, 2019. In connection with these purchases,the redemptions, we recorded lossesa loss from early extinguishment of debt of approximately $2$47 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2018, primarily related to the write-off of associated unamortized note discount and issuance costs, partially offset by the difference between the purchase price and the par value of the notes. These purchases were made under an authorization that our board of directors provided in the three months ended September 30, 2017March 31, 2019, primarily related to purchase up to $150 millionthe difference between the redemption prices and the par values of debt in the open market. This authorization will expire on December 31, 2018. At September 30, 2018, there was approximately $32 million remaining under this authorization.notes, as well as the write-off of the associated unamortized issuance costs.
Credit Agreement. We have a senior secured revolving credit facility (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”) that provides, subject to borrowing availability, for revolving loans in an aggregate principal amount of up to $1 billion, with a $300 million subfacility for standby letters of credit. Obligations under the Credit Agreement, which has a scheduled maturity date of December 4, 2020, are guaranteed by substantially all of our domestic wholly owned hospital subsidiaries and are secured by a first-priority lien on the accounts receivable owned by us and the subsidiary guarantors. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we were in compliance with all covenants and conditions in our Credit Agreement. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we had no$190 million of cash borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement subject to a weighted average interest rate of 3.77%, and we had approximately $2 million of standby letters of credit outstanding. Based on our eligible receivables, approximately $998$808 million was available for borrowing under the Credit Agreement at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019.  
 
Letter of Credit Facility. We have a letter of credit facility (as amended, the “LC Facility”) that provides for the issuance of standby and documentary letters of credit, from time to time, in an aggregate principal amount of up to $180 million (subject to increase to up to $200 million). The maturity date of the LC Facility is March 7, 2021. Obligations under the

LC Facility are guaranteed and secured by a first-priority pledge of the capital stock and other ownership interests of certain of our wholly owned domestic hospital subsidiaries on an equal ranking basis with our senior secured first lien notes. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we were in compliance with all covenants and conditions in our LC Facility. At SeptemberJune 30, 2018,2019, we had approximately $96$100 million of standby letters of credit outstanding under the LC Facility.
 
For additional information regarding our long-term debt, and capital lease obligations, see Note 67 to our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Note 67 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report.
 
LIQUIDITY
 
From time to time, we expect to engage in additional capital markets, bank credit and other financing activities depending on our needs and financing alternatives available at that time. We believe our existing debt agreements provide flexibility for future secured or unsecured borrowings.
 
Our cash on hand fluctuates day-to-day throughout the year based on the timing and levels of routine cash receipts and disbursements, including our book overdrafts, and required cash disbursements, such as interest and income tax payments. These fluctuations result in material intra-quarter net operating and investing uses of cash that have caused, and in the future could cause, us to use our Credit Agreement as a source of liquidity. We believe that existing cash and cash equivalents on hand, availability under our Credit Agreement, anticipated future cash provided by operating activities, and our investments in marketable securities of our captive insurance companies classified as noncurrent investments onin our balance sheet should be adequate to meet our current cash needs. These sources of liquidity, in combination with any potential future debt incurrence, should also be adequate to finance planned capital expenditures, payments on the current portion of our long-term debt,

payments to joint venture partners, including those related to put and call arrangements, and other presently known operating needs.
 
Long-term liquidity for debt service and other purposes will be dependent on the amount of cash provided by operating activities and, subject to favorable market and other conditions, the successful completion of future borrowings and potential refinancings. However, our cash requirements could be materially affected by the use of cash in acquisitions of businesses, repurchases of securities, the exercise of put rights or other exit options by our joint venture partners, and contractual commitments to fund capital expenditures in, or intercompany borrowings to, businesses we own. In addition, liquidity could be adversely affected by a deterioration in our results of operations, including our ability to generate sufficient cash from operations, as well as by the various risks and uncertainties discussed in this section and other sections of this report and in our Annual Report, including any costs associated with legal proceedings and government investigations.
 
We do not rely on commercial paper or other short-term financing arrangements nor do we enter into repurchase agreements or other short-term financing arrangements not otherwise reported in our period-end balance sheets. In addition, we do not have significant exposure to floating interest rates given that all of our current long-term indebtedness has fixed rates of interest.interest except for borrowings under our Credit Agreement.
 
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
 
We have no off-balance sheet arrangements that may have a current or future material effect on our financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources, except for $155$144 million of standby letters of credit outstanding and guarantees at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019.
 
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
 
In preparing our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP, we must use estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. We regularly evaluate the accounting policies and estimates we use. In general, we base the estimates on historical experience and on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, given the particular circumstances in which we operate. Actual results may vary from those estimates.
 
We consider our critical accounting estimates to be those that (1) involve significant judgments and uncertainties, (2) require estimates that are more difficult for management to determine, and (3) may produce materially different outcomes under different conditions or when using different assumptions.
 
Our critical accounting estimates have not changed from the description provided in our Annual Report, except for the changes related to the implementation of ASU 2014-09. See Note 1 to our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for a description of our revised policies for revenue recognition.Report.


ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
 
The following table presents information about certain of our market-sensitive financial instruments at SeptemberJune 30, 2018.2019. The fair values were determined based on quoted market prices for the same or similar instruments. The average effective interest rates presented are based on the rate in effect at the reporting date. The effects of unamortized premiums, discounts and issue costs are excluded from the table.
  Maturity Date, Years Ending December 31,      
  2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Thereafter Total Fair Value
  (Dollars in Millions)
Fixed rate long-term debt $111
 $613
 $2,686
 $1,950
 $3,578
 $6,106
 $15,044
 $15,186
Average effective interest rates 5.8% 5.7% 6.2% 4.7% 8.5% 6.1% 6.5%  
At September 30, 2018, we had long-term, market-sensitive investments held by our captive insurance subsidiaries. Our market risk associated with our investments in debt securities classified as non-current assets is substantially mitigated by the long-term nature and type of the investments in the portfolio.
  Maturity Date, Years Ending December 31,      
  2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Thereafter Total Fair Value
  (Dollars in Millions)
Fixed rate long-term debt $165
 $2,435
 $1,980
 $2,827
 $1,897
 $5,655
 $14,959
 $15,276
Average effective interest rates 5.7% 6.0% 4.7% 8.6% 7.3% 5.8% 6.4%  
                 
Variable rate long-term debt $
 $190
 $
 $
 $
 $
 $190
 $190
Average effective interest rates 
 3.8% 
 
 
 
 3.8%  
 
We have no affiliation with partnerships, trusts or other entities (sometimes referred to as “special-purpose” or “variable-interest” entities) whose purpose is to facilitate off-balance sheet financial transactions or similar arrangements by us. As a result, we have no exposure to the financing, liquidity, market or credit risks associated with such entities.
 
We do not hold or issue derivative instruments for trading purposes and are not a party to any instruments with leverage or prepayment features.
 

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
 
We carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined by Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as of the end of the period covered by this report. The evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer. Based upon that evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that material information is recorded, processed, summarized and reported by management on a timely basis in order to comply with our disclosure obligations under the Exchange Act and the SEC rules thereunder.
 
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended SeptemberJune 30, 20182019 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. During the quarter ended March 31, 2019, we added additional controls for the recording and disclosure of right-of-use assets and liabilities related to operating leases.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Because we provide healthcare services in a highly regulated industry, we have been and expect to continue to be party to various lawsuits, claims and regulatory investigations from time to time. For information regarding material pending legal proceedings in which we are involved, see Note 1213 to our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, which is incorporated by reference.

In addition, as disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 (“Annual Report”), in the fourth quarter of 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) notified us that we had breached certain reporting obligations under the terms of our non-prosecution agreement (the “NPA”). Also as previously disclosed, the DOJ subsequently extended the term of the NPA from its scheduled expiration date of February 1, 2020 to November 1, 2020. The nine-month extension of the NPA resolved the breach notification, and we do not believe that such extension will have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
 
There have been no material changes to the risk factors discussed in our Annual Report.Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (“Annual Report”), except that the following risk factors have been updated to more specifically address the July 24, 2019 announcement of our intention to pursue a tax-free spin-off of Conifer as a separate, independent, publicly traded company.

We cannot provide any assurances that we will be successful in completing the proposed spin-off of Conifer or in divesting assets in non-core markets.

We cannot predict the outcome of the process we have begun to pursue a tax-free spin-off of Conifer. We cannot provide any assurances regarding the timeframe for completing the spin-off, the allocation of assets and liabilities between Tenet and Conifer, that the other conditions of the spin-off will be met, or that the spin-off will be completed at all. We also continue to exit service lines, businesses and markets that we believe are no longer strategic to our long-term growth. To that end, since January 1, 2018, we divested 11 hospitals in the United States, as well as all of our operations in the United Kingdom. We cannot provide any assurances that completed, planned or future divestitures or other strategic transactions will achieve their business goals or the cost and service synergies we expect.

With respect to all proposed divestitures of assets or businesses, we may fail to obtain applicable regulatory approvals for such divestitures, including any approval that may be required under our NPA. Moreover, we may encounter difficulties in finding acquirers or alternative exit strategies on terms that are favorable to us, which could delay the receipt of anticipated proceeds necessary for us to complete our planned strategic objectives. In addition, our divestiture activities have required, and may in the future require, us to retain significant pre-closing liabilities, recognize impairment charges or agree to contractual restrictions that limit our ability to reenter the applicable market, which may be material. Furthermore, our divestiture or other corporate development activities (including the planned spin-off of Conifer) may present financial and operational risks, including (1) the diversion of management attention from existing core businesses, (2) adverse effects (including a deterioration in the related asset or business and, in Conifer’s case, the loss of existing clients and the difficulties associated with securing new clients) from the announcement of the planned or potential activity, and (3) the challenges associated with separating personnel and financial and other systems.

A spin-off of Conifer could adversely affect our earnings and cash flows.

Conifer contributes a significant portion of the Company’s earnings and cash flows. We have begun to pursue a tax-free spin-off of Conifer. Although there can be no assurance that this process will result in a consummated transaction, any separation of all or a portion of Conifer’s business could adversely affect our earnings and cash flows.

Conifer operates in a highly competitive industry, and its current or future competitors may be able to compete more effectively than Conifer does, which could have a material adverse effect on Conifer’s margins, growth rate and market share.

As we have begun to pursue a spin-off of Conifer, we are continuing to market Conifer’s revenue cycle management, patient communications and engagement services, and value-based care solutions businesses. The announcement of our plans to spin off Conifer may have an adverse impact on Conifer’s ability to secure new clients. There can be no assurance that Conifer will be successful in generating new client relationships, including with respect to hospitals we or Conifer’s other clients sell, as the respective buyers of such hospitals may not continue to use Conifer’s services or, if they do, they may not do so under the same contractual terms. The market for Conifer’s solutions is highly competitive, and we expect competition may intensify in the future. Conifer faces competition from existing participants and new entrants to the revenue cycle management market, as well as from the staffs of hospitals and other healthcare providers who handle these processes internally. In addition, electronic medical record software vendors may expand into services offerings that compete with Conifer. To be successful, Conifer must respond more quickly and effectively than its competitors to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards, regulations and client requirements. Moreover, existing or new competitors may introduce technologies or services that render

Conifer’s technologies or services obsolete or less marketable. Even if Conifer’s technologies and services are more effective than the offerings of its competitors, current or potential clients might prefer competitive technologies or services to Conifer’s technologies and services. Furthermore, increased competition has resulted and may continue to result in pricing pressures, which could negatively impact Conifer’s margins, growth rate or market share.

Despite current indebtedness levels, we may be able to incur substantially more debt or otherwise increase our leverage. This could further exacerbate the risks described above.

We have the ability to incur additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in our senior secured revolving credit facility (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”), our letter of credit facility (as amended, the “LC Facility”) and the indentures governing our outstanding notes. We may decide to incur additional secured or unsecured debt in the future to finance our operations and any judgments or settlements or for other business purposes. Similarly, if we complete the proposed spin-off of Conifer or continue to sell assets and do not use the proceeds to repay debt, this could further increase our financial leverage.

Our Credit Agreement provides for revolving loans in an aggregate principal amount of up to $1 billion, with a $300 million subfacility for standby letters of credit. Based on our eligible receivables, $808 million was available for borrowing under the Credit Agreement at June 30, 2019. Our LC Facility provides for the issuance of standby and documentary letters of credit in an aggregate principal amount of up to $180 million (subject to increase to up to $200 million). At June 30, 2019, we had $190 million of cash borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement, and we had $102 million of standby letters of credit outstanding in the aggregate under the Credit Agreement and the LC Facility. If new indebtedness is added or our leverage increases, the related risks that we now face could intensify.


 

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
 
TheUnless otherwise indicated, the following exhibits are filed with this report: 
(10)Material Contracts
(a)
(b)
(c)
    
(31) Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certifications
    
  (a)
    
  (b)
    
(32) 
    
(101 SCH) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
    
(101 CAL) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
   
(101 DEF) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
   
(101 LAB) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
   
(101 PRE) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
   
(101 INS) XBRL Taxonomy Extension Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the interactive data file because its XBRL tags are embedded within the inline XBRL document.
  
(104)Cover page from the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 formatted in Inline XBRL
 
* Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

SIGNATURES
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
 
  
TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION
(Registrant)
   
Date: NovemberAugust 5, 20182019By:/s/ R. SCOTT RAMSEY
  R. Scott Ramsey
  Vice President and Controller
  (Principal Accounting Officer)


6362