COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS INC

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Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affecting the review of federal agency actions could adversely impact our business and operations.

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In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions affecting judicial review of federal agency-related actions that increase judicial scrutiny of agency authority, shift greater responsibility for statutory interpretation to courts, and expand the timeline in which a plaintiff can sue regulators. In particular, in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its prior ruling in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., which held that when a statute is ambiguous or silent, courts should not substitute their own judgments regarding the actions of those agencies so long as the federal agencies’ interpretation of the enabling federal statute was reasonable (this was commonly known as “Chevron deference”). In Loper Bright, the U.S. Supreme Court, held that courts must instead exercise their independent judgment when deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, and that courts may not defer to an agency interpretation simply because a statute is ambiguous.

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The Loper Bright decision, as well as certain other recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, could have significant impacts on government agency regulation, particularly within the heavily-regulated healthcare industry, and may have broad implications for our business. As a result of these decisions, there may be an increase in legal challenges to regulations and guidance issued by federal agencies responsible for regulating various aspects of our business, including HHS and certain of its agencies, such as CMS, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Office of Inspector General. Certain of these potential legal challenges, if successful, could have a material negative impact on our business, including through impacts on Medicare and Medicaid payment and coverage, the availability of coverage and subsidies to our patients under the Affordable Care Act and other policies affecting the size of the uninsured population, the administration of state Medicaid programs, the enforcement and interpretation of fraud and abuse laws, and other legal matters discussed in the risk factor “If we fail to comply with extensive laws and government regulations, including fraud and abuse laws, we could suffer penalties or be required to make significant changes to our operations” included in Part I, Item 1A of the 2023 Form 10-K. In addition to potential changes to regulations and agency guidance as a result of legal challenges, these U.S. Supreme Court decisions may result in increased regulatory uncertainty, inconsistent judicial interpretations, and delays in and other impacts to the agency rulemaking process, any of which could also adversely impact our business and operations.