Investor Contact: W. Larry Cash Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (615) 465-7000 COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. PREVIEWS OPERATING RESULTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS AND YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014 FRANKLIN

COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. PREVIEWS OPERATING RESULTS FOR THE

THREE MONTHS AND YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (January 20, 2015) - Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) (the Company ) today announced preliminary

financial and operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2014. These results are based on information available to management as of the date of this press release and are subject to revision upon finalization of the

Company s quarterly accounting and financial reporting procedures and completion of the annual audit.

The Company anticipates net

operating revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2014, will be approximately $4.9 billion, compared with $3.2 billion for the same period in 2013. Excluding acquisition and integration expenses from the acquisition of Hospital

Management Associates, Inc. ( HMA ), legal expenses related to the HMA legal proceedings underlying the CVR agreement, and expenses related to other government legal settlements, ADJUSTED EBITDA is expected to be approximately $785 million

for the three months ended December 31, 2014, an increase of 71% over ADJUSTED EBITDA of $459 million for the three months ended December 31, 2013, adjusted for expenses related to the HMA acquisition and government settlement and related

expenses. Excluding these same adjustments, ADJUSTED EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2014 was $751 million.

Company anticipates net operating revenues for the year ended December 31, 2014, will be approximately $18.6 billion, compared with $12.8 billion for the same period in 2013. Excluding acquisition and integration expenses from the acquisition

of HMA, legal expenses related to the HMA legal proceedings underlying the CVR agreement, and expenses related to other government legal settlements, ADJUSTED EBITDA is expected to be approximately $2.777 billion for the year ended December 31,

2014, an increase of 49% over ADJUSTED EBITDA of $1.860 billion for the year ended December 31, 2013, adjusted for expenses related to the HMA acquisition and government settlement and related expenses.

Excluding the per share impact in 2014 and 2013 of the adjustments above, as well as the per share impact of early extinguishment of debt, and

the impairment and accelerated amortization of certain long-lived assets, consistent with prior periods, the Company anticipates income from continuing operations per share (diluted) to be $1.23 and $3.29 per share (diluted) for the three months and

year ended December 31, 2014, respectively, compared to $0.55 and $2.62 per share (diluted) for the three months and year ended December 31, 2013, respectively.

The following summarizes additional preliminary supplemental operating data related to anticipated results:

CYH Previews Fourth Quarter 2014 Results

The Company anticipates reporting its complete financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2014, on

February 19, 2015, followed by a live earnings call on February 20, 2015.

EBITDA consists of net income attributable to

Community Health Systems, Inc. before interest, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA adjusted to exclude discontinued operations, loss from early extinguishment of debt, impairment of long-lived assets and net

income attributable to noncontrolling interests. ADJUSTED EBITDA is Adjusted EBITDA further adjusted to exclude acquisition and integration expenses from the acquisition of HMA, legal expenses related to the HMA legal proceedings underlying the CVR

agreement, and expenses related to government settlements for the relevant 2014 and 2013 periods. The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of liquidity. The Company also believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides investors with additional

information about the Company s ability to incur and service debt and make capital expenditures. The Company has included ADJUSTED EBITDA in this release because it believes that including this measure provides investors with an additional tool

for evaluating and understanding the Company s operating performance and comparing such performance between relevant periods. Adjusted EBITDA and ADJUSTED EBITDA are not measurements of financial performance or liquidity under U.S. GAAP. They

should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income, operating income, cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities or any other measure calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The items excluded from Adjusted

EBITDA and ADJUSTED EBITDA are significant components in understanding and evaluating financial performance and liquidity. This calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and ADJUSTED

CYH Previews Fourth Quarter 2014 Results

EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net cash provided by operating activities will be provided in

connection with the Company s release setting forth its complete financial results as noted above.

Community Health Systems, Inc. is

one of the largest publicly-traded hospital companies in the United States and a leading operator of general acute-care hospitals in non-urban and mid-size markets throughout the country. Through its subsidiaries, the Company currently owns, leases

or operates 206 hospitals in 29 states with an aggregate of approximately 31,100 licensed beds. The Company s headquarters are located in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb south of Nashville. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on

the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CYH. More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.chs.net.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains

forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve

risk and uncertainties. All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding projections, expected operating results, and other events that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions

or that include words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, estimates, thinks, and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Although

the Company believes that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, which are difficult or impossible to

predict accurately and may be beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, the Company cannot give any assurance that its expectations will in fact occur and cautions that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking

statements. A number of factors could affect the future results of the Company or the healthcare industry generally and could cause the Company s expected results to differ materially from those expressed in this press release.

These factors include, among other things:

CYH Previews Fourth Quarter 2014 Results

The Company cautions that the preliminary results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2014 set forth in this press release

are given as of the date hereof based on information currently available to management and are subject to revision upon finalization of the Company s quarterly accounting and financial reporting procedures and completion of the annual audit.

The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.