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thc-20231231

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Commission File Number 1-7293

TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

(State of Incorporation) (IRS Employer Identification No.)

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading symbol Name of each exchange on which registered

Common stock, $0.05 par value THC New York Stock Exchange

6.875% Senior Notes due 2031 THC31 New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Large accelerated filer ý Accelerated filer ̈ Non-accelerated filer ̈

Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

PART I

Item 1. Business 1

Item 1A. Risk Factors 16

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 29

Item 1C. Cybersecurity 29

Item 2. Properties 30

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 30

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 30

PART II

Item 6. Reserved 32

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 79

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 80

Consolidated Financial Statements 84

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 89

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 132

Item 9B. Other Information 132

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 132

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 133

Item 11. Executive Compensation 133

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 133

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 134

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PART I.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

OVERVIEW

Tenet Healthcare Corporation (“Tenet”) is a diversified healthcare services company with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas, and a Global Business Center (“GBC”) supporting various administrative functions in Manila, Philippines. We operate our expansive, nationwide care delivery network through direct and indirect subsidiaries, as well as downstream partnerships and joint ventures; the terms “we,” “our” and “us,” as used in this report and unless otherwise stated or indicated by the context, refer to Tenet and these entities.

Prior to December 31, 2023, our business was organized into three separate reporting segments: Hospital Operations and other, Ambulatory Care and Conifer. For the reasons discussed in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, of Part II of this report (“MD&A”), we combined our Hospital Operations and other and Conifer segments in the three months ended December 31, 2023. Our business is now classified into two separate reporting segments:

•Hospital Operations and Services (“Hospital Operations”), including: (i) 61 acute care and specialty hospitals, a network of employed physicians, and 164 outpatient facilities, including imaging centers, urgent care centers (each, a “UCC”), ancillary emergency facilities and micro‐hospitals, at December 31, 2023; and (ii) the revenue cycle management and value‐based care services that our Conifer Health Solutions, LLC joint venture (“Conifer JV”) provides to hospitals, health systems, physician practices, employers and other clients; and

•Ambulatory Care, which is comprised of the operations of our subsidiary USPI Holding Company, Inc. (“USPI”), which held indirect ownership interests in over 460 ambulatory surgery centers (each, an “ASC”) and 24 surgical hospitals at December 31, 2023.

All prior-period data presented in this report has been adjusted to conform to the new reporting segment structure described above. Additional information about our reporting segments is provided below; statistical data for the segments can be found in MD&A.

OPERATIONS

HOSPITAL OPERATIONS AND SERVICES SEGMENT

In 2023, we continued to pursue advantageous opportunities to grow our portfolio of hospitals and other healthcare facilities. In December 2023, we completed a joint venture transaction with NextCare, Inc. (“NextCare”) and certain of its affiliates pursuant to which we acquired ownership interests in 56 fully operational UCCs and one telehealth center located in Arizona. NextCare will continue to provide management services to each UCC pursuant to the terms of a management services agreement, and the centers will continue to operate under the NextCare brand. In addition, we are constructing a new medical campus located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas, that is expected to include a 104‐bed acute care hospital, an ASC and medical office space. The project is currently on schedule for completion in mid‐2024. During 2023, we also broke ground on a new medical campus located in Port St. Lucie, Florida that is expected to include a 54-bed hospital, as well as medical office space. We expect to complete construction of the Port St. Lucie medical campus in late 2025.

From time to time, we also capitalize on opportunities to refine our portfolio of hospitals and other healthcare facilities when we believe such refinements will help us improve profitability, allocate capital more effectively in areas where we have a stronger presence, deploy proceeds on higher‐return investments across our business, enhance cash flow generation and reduce our debt, among other things. In November 2023, we entered into a definitive agreement to sell three of our South Carolina hospitals, their affiliated physician practices and other related hospital operations, and that transaction closed on January 31, 2024. Also in January 2024, we entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of four acute care hospitals and related operations in Orange County and Los Angeles County, California. The transaction is expected to be completed by early 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals, clearances and closing conditions. In addition, we exited some service lines at individual facilities in 2023, in each case because they are no longer a core part of our long‐term growth and synergy strategies. We may decide to sell, consolidate or close facilities or service lines in the future to eliminate duplicate services or excess capacity or because of changing market conditions or other factors.

At December 31, 2023, our subsidiaries operated 61 hospitals serving primarily urban and suburban communities in nine states. Our subsidiaries had sole ownership of 53 of these hospitals, six were owned or leased by entities that are majority owned by a Tenet subsidiary, and two were owned by third parties and leased by our wholly owned subsidiaries. Our Hospital Operations segment also included 164 outpatient centers at December 31, 2023, the majority of which are provider‐based and

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freestanding imaging centers, freestanding UCCs, off‐campus hospital emergency departments (“EDs”) and micro‐hospitals. In addition, at December 31, 2023, our subsidiaries owned or leased and operated: a number of medical office buildings, all of which were located on, or nearby, our hospital campuses; nearly 770 physician practices with a network of employed physicians; and other associated healthcare businesses.

Each of our general hospitals offers acute care services, operating and recovery rooms, radiology services, respiratory therapy services, clinical laboratories and pharmacies; in addition, most have: intensive care, critical care and/or coronary care units; cardiovascular, digestive disease, neurosciences, musculoskeletal and obstetrics services; and outpatient services, including physical therapy. Many of our hospitals provide tertiary care services, such as cardiothoracic surgery, complex spinal surgery, neonatal intensive care and neurosurgery, and some also offer quaternary care in areas such as heart and kidney transplants. Moreover, a number of our hospitals offer advanced treatment options for patients, including limb‐salvaging vascular procedures, acute level 1 trauma services, comprehensive intravascular stroke care, minimally invasive cardiac valve replacement, cutting‐edge imaging technology, surgical robotic capabilities and telemedicine access for select medical specialties.

All of the hospitals in our Hospital Operations segment are licensed under appropriate state laws, and each is accredited by The Joint Commission. With such accreditation, our hospitals are deemed to meet the Medicare Conditions of Participation and Conditions for Coverage, and they are eligible to participate Medicare, Medicaid and other government‐sponsored provider programs.

The following table lists, by state, the hospitals wholly owned, operated as part of a joint venture, or leased and operated by our wholly owned subsidiaries at December 31, 2023:

Hospital Location LicensedBeds Status

Alabama

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center(1) Homewood 595 JV/Owned

Citizens Baptist Medical Center(1)(2) Talladega 122 JV/Leased

Princeton Baptist Medical Center(1)(2) Birmingham 505 JV/Leased

Shelby Baptist Medical Center(1)(2) Alabaster 252 JV/Leased

Walker Baptist Medical Center(1)(2) Jasper 267 JV/Leased

Arizona

Abrazo Arizona Heart Hospital(3) Phoenix 59 Owned

Abrazo Arrowhead Campus Glendale 215 Owned

Abrazo Central Campus Phoenix 206 Owned

Abrazo Scottsdale Campus Phoenix 120 Owned

Abrazo West Campus Goodyear 216 Owned

Holy Cross Hospital(4) Nogales 25 Owned

St. Joseph’s Hospital Tucson 486 Owned

St. Mary’s Hospital Tucson 400 Owned

California

Desert Regional Medical Center(5) Palm Springs 385 Leased

Doctors Hospital of Manteca Manteca 73 Owned

Doctors Medical Center Modesto 461 Owned

Emanuel Medical Center Turlock 209 Owned

Hi-Desert Medical Center(7) Joshua Tree 179 Leased

John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital Indio 145 Owned

Lakewood Regional Medical Center(6) Lakewood 172 Owned

Los Alamitos Medical Center(6) Los Alamitos 172 Owned

Placentia Linda Hospital(6) Placentia 114 Owned

San Ramon Regional Medical Center(8) San Ramon 123 JV/Owned

Tenet Health Central Coast Twin Cities Community Hospital Templeton 122 Owned

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Hospital Location LicensedBeds Status

Florida

Delray Medical Center Delray Beach 536 Owned

Good Samaritan Medical Center West Palm Beach 333 Owned

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center Palm Beach Gardens 199 Owned

St. Mary’s Medical Center West Palm Beach 420 Owned

West Boca Medical Center Boca Raton 195 Owned

Massachusetts

MetroWest Medical Center – Framingham Union Campus Framingham 136 Owned

MetroWest Medical Center – Leonard Morse Campus(3) Natick 103 Owned

Saint Vincent Hospital Worcester 290 Owned

Michigan

Children’s Hospital of Michigan Detroit 228 Owned

Detroit Receiving Hospital Detroit 273 Owned

Harper University Hospital Detroit 470 Owned

Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital Commerce Township 158 Owned

Hutzel Women’s Hospital Detroit 114 Owned

Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan(3) Detroit 69 Owned

Sinai-Grace Hospital Detroit 404 Owned

South Carolina

Coastal Carolina Hospital(9) Hardeeville 44 Owned

East Cooper Medical Center(9) Mount Pleasant 140 Owned

Hilton Head Hospital(9) Hilton Head Island 93 Owned

Piedmont Medical Center Rock Hill 294 Owned

Piedmont Medical Center Fort Mill Fort Mill 100 Owned

Tennessee

Saint Francis Hospital Memphis 479 Owned

Saint Francis Hospital – Bartlett Bartlett 196 Owned

Texas

Baptist Medical Center San Antonio 607 Owned

The Hospitals of Providence East Campus El Paso 218 Owned

The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus El Paso 480 Owned

The Hospitals of Providence Sierra Campus El Paso 306 Owned

The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus El Paso 108 Owned

Mission Trail Baptist Hospital San Antonio 114 Owned

Nacogdoches Medical Center Nacogdoches 161 Owned

North Central Baptist Hospital San Antonio 443 Owned

Northeast Baptist Hospital San Antonio 347 Owned

Resolute Baptist Hospital New Braunfels 128 Owned

St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital San Antonio 287 Owned

Valley Baptist Medical Center Harlingen 586 Owned

Valley Baptist Medical Center – Brownsville Brownsville 240 Owned

Total Licensed Beds 15,484

(1)Operated by a limited liability company formed as part of a joint venture with Baptist Health System, Inc. (“BHS”), a not‐for‐profit health system in Alabama; a Tenet subsidiary owned a 70% interest in the entity at December 31, 2023, and BHS owned a 30% interest.

(2)In order to receive certain tax benefits for these hospitals, which were operated as nonprofit hospitals prior to our joint venture with BHS, we have entered into arrangements with the City of Talladega, the City of Birmingham, the City of Alabaster and the City of Jasper such that a Medical Clinic Board owns each of these hospitals, and the hospitals are leased to our joint venture entity. These capital leases expire between November 2025 and September 2036, but contain two optional renewal terms of 10 years each.

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(3)Specialty hospital.

(4)Designated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) as a critical access hospital.

(5)Lease expires in May 2027.

(6)In January 2024, we entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of these hospitals and related operations. The transaction is expected to be completed by early 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals, clearances and closing conditions.

(7)Lease expires in July 2045.

(8)Owned by a limited liability company formed as part of a joint venture with John Muir Health (“John Muir”), a not‐for‐profit health system in the San Francisco Bay area; a Tenet subsidiary owned a 51% interest in the entity at December 31, 2023, and John Muir owned a 49% interest.

(9)These hospitals, their affiliated physician practices and other related hospital operations were sold on January 31, 2024.

Information regarding the utilization of licensed beds and other operating statistics at December 31, 2023 and 2022 can be found in MD&A.

At December 31, 2023, our Hospital Operations segment also included 42 imaging centers, 14 off‐campus EDs and nine ASCs, all of which are operated as departments of our hospitals and under the same license, as well as 99 separately licensed, freestanding outpatient centers – typically at locations complementary to our hospitals – consisting of 58 UCCs (56 of which are jointly owned with and managed by NextCare in Arizona), 25 imaging centers, 15 emergency facilities (14 of which are licensed as micro‐hospitals) and one ASC. Approximately 60% of the outpatient centers in our Hospital Operations segment at December 31, 2023 were in Arizona and Texas. Strong concentrations of facilities within operating areas may help us expand our managed care payer network, reduce management, marketing and other expenses, and more efficiently utilize resources. However, these concentrations increase the risk that, should any adverse economic, regulatory, environmental, competitive or other condition (including surges of COVID‐19 or other illnesses) occur in these areas, our overall business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

In addition to the hospitals and outpatient facilities discussed above, our Hospital Operations segment now includes our Conifer JV’s revenue cycle management and value‐based care service offerings. At December 31, 2023, we owned 76.2% of the Conifer JV, and Catholic Health Initiatives (“CHI”) had a 23.8% ownership position. The term “Conifer,” as used in Part I of this report and unless otherwise stated or indicated by the context, refers to our Conifer JV and its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries.

The revenue cycle management solutions we offer consist of: (1) patient services, including: centralized insurance and benefit verification; financial clearance, pre‐certification, registration and check‐in services; and financial counseling services, including reviews of eligibility for government healthcare or financial assistance programs, for both insured and uninsured patients, as well as qualified health plan coverage; (2) clinical revenue integrity solutions, including: clinical admission reviews; coding; clinical documentation improvement; coding compliance audits; charge description master management; and health information services; and (3) accounts receivable management solutions, including: third‐party billing and collections; denials management; and patient collections. All of these solutions include ongoing measurement and monitoring of key revenue cycle metrics, as well as productivity and quality improvement programs. In addition, we provide customized communications and engagement solutions to optimize the relationship between providers and patients. We also offer value‐based care services, including clinical integration, financial risk management and population health management, all of which aim to assist clients in improving the cost and quality of their healthcare delivery, as well as their patient outcomes.

At December 31, 2023, we provided one or more of the business process services described above to approximately 675 Tenet and non‐Tenet hospitals and other clients nationwide. Tenet and CHI facilities represented approximately 43% of these clients, and the remainder were unaffiliated health systems, hospitals, physician practices, self‐insured organizations, health plans and other entities. Conifer’s agreement with CHI to provide patient access, revenue integrity, accounts receivable management and patient financial services to CHI’s facilities expires on December 31, 2032.

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AMBULATORY CARE SEGMENT

At December 31, 2023, USPI held indirect ownership interests in over 460 ASCs and 24 surgical hospitals in 35 states.

USPI’s facilities offer a range of procedures and service lines, including, among other specialties: orthopedics, total joint replacement, and spinal and other musculoskeletal procedures; gastroenterology; pain management; otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat); ophthalmology; and urology.

We believe USPI’s ASCs and surgical hospitals offer many advantages to patients and physicians, including greater affordability, predictability, flexibility and convenience. Moreover, due in part to advancements in surgical techniques, medical technology and anesthesia, as well as 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 the outpatient setting will continue to increase over time. For these reasons, we remain focused on opportunities to expand our Ambulatory Care segment through acquisitions, organic growth, construction of new outpatient centers and strategic partnerships. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we acquired controlling ownership interests in 20 ASCs in which we did not have a previous investment, and we opened nine de novo ASCs. We also continue to prioritize increasing our investment in our unconsolidated facilities; during the year ended December 31, 2023, we acquired controlling ownership interests in 11 of our previously unconsolidated ASCs, allowing us to consolidate their financial results. Our goal is to have an ownership interest in and operate 575 to 600 ASCs by the end of 2025.

In addition, we are taking steps to grow our Ambulatory Care segment business by replacing high‐volume, low‐acuity service lines with service lines involving higher acuity cases. To that end, we closed or sold our ownership interests in a small number of centers that are no longer part of our long‐term growth strategy.

Operations of USPI—USPI acquires and develops its facilities primarily through the formation of joint ventures with physicians and health system partners. USPI’s subsidiaries hold ownership interests in the facilities directly or indirectly and operate the majority of its facilities on a day‐to‐day basis through management services contracts.

We operate USPI’s facilities, structure our joint ventures, and adopt staffing, scheduling, and clinical systems and protocols with the goal of increasing physician productivity and satisfaction. We believe that this focus on physicians, combined with providing high‐quality healthcare in a convenient environment for patients, will continue to increase the number of procedures performed at our facilities over time. Our joint ventures also enable health systems to offer patients, physicians and payers the cost advantages, convenience and other benefits of ambulatory care in a freestanding facility and, in certain areas, establish networks needed to manage the full continuum of care for a defined population. Further, these relationships allow the health systems to focus their attention and resources on their core businesses without the challenge of acquiring, developing and operating ancillary facilities.

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REAL PROPERTY

The locations of our acute care and specialty hospitals and the number of licensed beds at each at December 31, 2023 are set forth in the table beginning on page 2. The locations of USPI’s surgical hospitals and ASCs are reflected on the map on page 5. We lease the majority of our outpatient facilities in both our Hospital Operations segment and our Ambulatory Care segment. These leases typically have initial terms ranging from five to 10 years, and most of the leases contain options to extend the lease periods. Our subsidiaries also operate a number of medical office buildings, all of which are located on, or nearby, our hospital campuses. We own many of these medical office buildings; the remainder are owned by third parties and leased by our subsidiaries.

We typically lease our office space under operating lease agreements. Our corporate headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas. In addition, we maintain administrative offices in regions where we operate hospitals and other businesses, as well as our GBC in Manila. We believe that all of our properties are suitable for their respective uses and are, in general, adequate for our present needs.

HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES

PHYSICIANS

Our operations depend in large part on the number, quality, specialties, and admitting and scheduling practices of the licensed physicians who are members of the medical staffs of our hospitals and other facilities, as well as physicians who affiliate with us and use our facilities as an extension of their practices. Under state laws and other licensing standards, medical staffs are generally self‐governing organizations subject to ultimate oversight by the facility’s local governing board. Members of the medical staffs of our facilities also often serve on the medical staffs of facilities we do not operate, and they are free to terminate their association with our facilities or admit their patients to competing facilities at any time. It is essential to our ongoing business and clinical program development that we attract an appropriate number of quality physicians in the specialties required to support our services and that we maintain good relations with those physicians.

Although we have no contractual relationship with most of the physicians who practice at our hospitals and outpatient centers, at December 31, 2023, we owned nearly 770 physician practices, and our subsidiaries employed (where permitted by state law) or otherwise affiliated with nearly 1,320 physicians. Our ability to employ physicians is closely regulated, with a number of states prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine or otherwise regulating what types of entities may employ physicians, and we structure our arrangements with healthcare providers to comply with these state laws.

In 2023, we continued to experience challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians. In some of the regions where we operate, physician recruitment and retention are affected by a shortage of qualified physicians in certain higher-demand clinical service lines and specialties. Moreover, we continue to refine our physician base and provider programs to focus on experienced, high-quality and collaborative specialists.

EMPLOYEES

We believe each employee across our network has a role integral to our mission, which is to provide quality, compassionate care in the communities we serve. At December 31, 2023, we employed approximately 106,500 people (of which approximately 26% were part‐time and on-call employees) in our two reporting segments, as follows:

Hospital Operations 84,000

At December 31, 2023, our overall employee headcount was approximately 4% higher than at December 31, 2022, in part due to recruiting efforts to fill open positions and reduce contract labor expense. We had employees in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as well as approximately 3,250 employees providing support across our entire network at our GBC, at December 31, 2023. Approximately 33% of our employees are nurses.

Board Oversight—Our board of directors and its committees oversee human capital matters through regular reports from management and advisors. The board’s human resources committee (“HR Committee”) is responsible for establishing general compensation policies that (1) support our overall business strategies and objectives, (2) enhance our efforts to attract and retain skilled employees, (3) link compensation with our business objectives and organizational performance, and (4) provide competitive compensation opportunities for key executives. The HR Committee also provides, among other things, its perspectives regarding performance management, succession planning, leadership development, diversity, recruiting,

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retention and employee training. The board’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) committee provides oversight with respect to our ESG strategy and guidance on ESG matters that are relevant to our business.

Human Resources Practices—We have established – and continue to enhance and refine – a comprehensive set of practices for recruiting, managing and optimizing the human resources of our organization. In many cases, we utilize objective benchmarking and other tools in our efforts in such areas as organizational effectiveness, engagement, voluntary turnover and staffing efficiencies.

Compensation and Benefits; Culture—In general, we seek to attract, develop and retain a qualified and engaged workforce, cultivate a high‐performance culture that embraces data‐driven decision‐making, and improve talent management processes to promote diversity and inclusion. To that end, we offer:

•a competitive range of compensation and benefit programs (which vary by location and other factors) designed to reward performance and promote well‐being, including an employee stock purchase plan, a 401(k) plan, health care and insurance benefits, health savings and flexible spending accounts, and paid time off;

•opportunities for continuing education and advancement through a broad range of clinical training and leadership development experiences, including in‐person and online courses and mentoring opportunities;

•a supportive, inclusive and patient‐centered culture aligned with our values and based on respect for others;

•company‐sponsored efforts encouraging and recognizing volunteerism and community service; and

•a code of conduct that promotes integrity, accountability and transparency, among other high ethical standards.

Employee Safety and Welfare—We believe our employees comprise a community built on care, and we place a high priority on maintaining a secure and healthy workplace for them. We promote a culture of well‐being and reporting by connecting employee safety policies with patient safety policies, and we review and refine the policies regularly. At our hospitals, outpatient facilities, and other care sites, we align staffing to need in our nursing units, and we invest in appropriate training to improve the competency of our caregivers. In addition, we have heightened infection-prevention protocols, we maintain availability of personal protective equipment and disinfection supplies, and we regularly provide concise and current infection prevention guidance.

We also offer resources to help employees manage challenging circumstances, including a comprehensive employee assistance program comprised of counseling services, financial guidance and legal aid. The Tenet Care Fund (the “Care Fund”) is a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides financial assistance to our employees who have experienced hardship due to, among other things, fires, natural disasters, catastrophic injuries and extended illnesses. The Care Fund is funded primarily by our employees for our employees.

Diversity and Inclusion—We continue to focus on the hiring, advancement and retention of underrepresented populations to further our objective of fostering an engaging culture with a workforce and leadership teams that represent the communities we serve. As of December 31, 2023, our total workforce was approximately 78% female, and over 52% of our employees self‐identified as racially or ethnically diverse.

We have a Diversity Council, which consists of leaders representing different facets of our enterprise, to support our overall diversity and inclusion efforts, including in the areas of recruiting, talent development, new‐hire mentoring, community partnerships, and educational opportunities. The Diversity Council works to provide tools, guidelines and training with respect to best practices in these areas. In addition, the Diversity Council has established the following employee resource groups to support team members with similar backgrounds or shared interests: African American, Women’s Network, Asian/Pacific, LGBTQ+, Hispanic and Veteran. Each employee resource group has an executive sponsor to help in setting a unique mission and operating model for the group.

Competition; Staffing and Labor Trends—Our operations are dependent on the availability, efforts, abilities and experience of management and medical support personnel, including nurses, therapists, pharmacists and lab technicians, among others. We have always competed with other healthcare providers in recruiting and retaining qualified employees; however, over the past several years, our industry has faced considerable workforce challenges. Like other hospital companies, we continue to experience shortages of advanced practice providers and critical‐care nurses in certain disciplines and geographic areas. The COVID‐19 pandemic exacerbated these shortages – and, thereby, competition for qualified candidates – as more employees chose to retire early, leave the workforce or take travel assignments. In addition, in some areas, the increased demand for care of patients with respiratory viruses at our facilities, as well as the direct impact of illnesses on physicians, employees and their families, have put a strain on our resources and staff.

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We also depend on the available labor pool of semi-skilled and unskilled workers in the areas where we operate. In some of our communities, employers across various industries have increased their minimum wage, which has created more competition and, in some cases, higher labor costs for this sector of employees. Furthermore, we expect that state-mandated minimum wage increases in California will result in an increase in compensation costs for certain of our employees and vendors beginning in 2024.

As a result of the aforementioned challenges, as well as inflationary pressures, we have been, and we may continue to be, required to enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain experienced employees, pay premiums above standard compensation for essential workers, or hire more expensive temporary or contract employees, which we also compete with other healthcare providers to secure. We have also made greater investments in education and training for newly licensed medical support personnel. We continue to work within our communities to increase access to healthcare programs and careers, including at our Baptist School of Health Professions in San Antonio and through our nationwide nursing extern and immersion program, which provides students with relevant hands-on training prior to graduation. Through these efforts, we have reduced onboarding and training time of some of our new nurses, and we have reduced certain of our expenses related to new-hire training.

Union Activity and Labor Relations—At December 31, 2023, approximately 23% of the employees in our Hospital Operations segment were represented by labor unions. None of the employees in our Ambulatory Care segment 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. Organizing activities by labor unions could increase our level of union representation in future periods, which could impact our labor costs.

When we are negotiating collective bargaining agreements with unions (whether such agreements are renewals or first contracts), work stoppages and strikes may be threatened or occur. Although relatively uncommon, extended strikes have had, and could in the future have, an adverse effect on our patient volumes, net operating revenues and labor costs at individual hospitals or in local markets.

Staffing Ratio Requirements—Our acute care hospitals in California are required to maintain minimum nurse‐to‐patient staffing ratios, which impacts our labor costs. Moreover, from time to time, we are required to limit admissions if we do not have the necessary number of nurses available to meet the required ratios, which has a corresponding adverse effect on our revenues.

ESG Report—Additional information regarding our approach to (1) diversity and inclusion efforts, (2) compensation, benefits, and education and development opportunities for employees, and (3) employee health and safety, among other topics, can be found in our most recent ESG Report, which is available on our website. The information found on our website, including the information in our ESG Reports, is not incorporated by reference into nor part of this or any other report or document we file with or furnish to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

COMPETITION

The existence or absence of state laws that require findings of need for construction and expansion of healthcare facilities or services (as described in the Healthcare Regulation and Licensing – Certificate of Need Requirements subsection below) may also impact competition. In recent years, the number of freestanding specialty hospitals, surgery centers, EDs, imaging centers and UCCs in the geographic areas where we operate has increased significantly. Some of these facilities are

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physician‐owned. Moreover, we expect to encounter additional competition from system‐affiliated hospitals and healthcare companies, as well as health insurers and private equity companies seeking to acquire providers, in certain regions in the future.

Another major factor in the competitive position of a hospital or outpatient facility is the scope of its relationships with managed care plans. Health maintenance organizations (“HMOs”), preferred provider organizations (“PPOs”), third‐party administrators, and other third‐party payers use managed care contracts to encourage patients to use certain hospitals in exchange for discounts from the hospitals’ established charges. Our ability to enter into, maintain and renew favorable contracts with HMOs, insurers offering preferred provider arrangements and other managed care plans, as well as add new facilities to our existing agreements at contracted rates, significantly affects our revenues and operating results. Generally, we compete for managed care contracts on the basis of price, market reputation, geographic location, quality and range of services, caliber of the medical staff and convenience. Other healthcare providers may affect our ability to enter into acceptable managed care contractual arrangements or negotiate commercial rate increases. For example, some of our competitors may negotiate exclusivity provisions with managed care plans or otherwise restrict the ability of managed care companies to contract with us. Vertical integration efforts involving third‐party payers and healthcare providers, among other factors, may increase competitive challenges.

Our strategies are designed to help our hospitals and outpatient facilities remain competitive, to attract and retain an appropriate number of physicians of distinction in various specialties, as well as skilled clinical personnel and other healthcare professionals, and to increase patient volumes. To that end, we have made significant investments in equipment, technology, education and operational strategies designed to improve clinical quality at all of our facilities. In addition, we continually collaborate with physicians to implement the most current evidence‐based medicine techniques to improve the way we provide care, while using labor management tools and supply‐chain initiatives to reduce variable costs. Moreover, we participate in various value‐based programs to improve quality and cost of care. We believe the use of these practices will promote the most effective and efficient utilization of resources and result in more appropriate lengths of stay, as well as reductions in readmissions for hospitalized patients. In general, we believe that quality of care improvements may have the effects of: (1) reducing costs; (2) increasing payments from Medicare and certain managed care payers for our services as governmental and private payers continue to move to pay‐for‐performance models, and the commercial market continues to move to more narrow networks and other methods designed to encourage covered individuals to use certain facilities over others; and (3) increasing physician and patient satisfaction, which may improve our volumes. Other competing health systems may implement similar strategies.

In addition, we have significantly increased our focus on operating our outpatient centers with improved accessibility and more convenient service for patients, increased predictability and efficiency for physicians, and (for most services) lower costs for payers than would be incurred with a hospital visit. We believe that emphasis on higher‐demand clinical service lines (including outpatient services), focus on expanding our ambulatory care business, cultivation of our culture of service and participation in Medicare Advantage health plans that have been experiencing higher growth rates than traditional Medicare, among other strategies, will help us address competitive challenges.

We also recognize that our future success depends, in part, on our ability to maintain and renew our existing managed care contracts and enter into new managed care contracts on competitive terms. To bolster our competitive position, we have sought to include all of our hospitals and other healthcare businesses in the related geographic area or nationally when negotiating new managed care contracts, which may result in additional volumes at facilities that were not previously a part of such managed care networks. We also continue to engage in contracting strategies that create shared value with payers.

HEALTHCARE REGULATION AND LICENSING

OVERVIEW

Like others in the healthcare industry, we are subject to an extensive and complex framework of government regulation at the federal, state and local levels. These legal and regulatory standards relate to, among other topics: ownership and operation of facilities and physician practices; licensure, certification and enrollment in government programs; the necessity and adequacy of medical care; quality of medical equipment and services; relationships with and qualifications of physicians and employees; operating conduct, policies and procedures; screening, stabilization and transfer of individuals who have emergency medical conditions; rate-setting, billing and coding for services; the preparation and filing of cost reports; the handling of overpayments; contractual arrangements; relationships with referral sources and referral recipients; privacy and security; maintenance of adequate records; construction, acquisition, expansion and closure of healthcare facilities or services;

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environmental protection; compliance with fire prevention and building codes; debt collection; and communications with patients and consumers. In addition, various permits are required to dispense narcotics, operate pharmacies, handle radioactive materials and operate certain equipment. Our facilities are also subject to periodic inspection by governmental and other authorities to determine their compliance with applicable regulations, as well as the standards necessary for licensing and accreditation.

We believe that our healthcare facilities hold all required governmental approvals, licenses and permits material to the operation of their business. Furthermore, we have extensive policies and procedures in place to facilitate compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; however, these policies and procedures cannot ensure compliance in every case. Moreover, government regulations often change, and we may have to make adjustments to our facilities, equipment, personnel and services to remain in compliance.

The potential consequences for failing to comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations include (1) required refunds of previously received government program payments, (2) the assessment of civil monetary penalties, including treble damages, (3) fines, which could be significant, (4) exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs and (5) criminal sanctions, including sanctions against current or former employees. Our Medicare and Medicaid payments may be suspended pending even an investigation of what the government determines to be a credible allegation of fraud. Any of the aforementioned consequences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

HEALTHCARE REFORM

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the “Affordable Care Act”), extended health coverage to millions of uninsured legal U.S. residents through a combination of private sector health insurance reforms and public program expansion. The initial expansion of health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act resulted in an increase in the number of patients using our facilities with either private or public program coverage and a decrease in uninsured and charity care admissions, along with reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to healthcare providers, including us. Of the nine states in which we operate hospitals, four have taken action in accordance with the Affordable Care Act to expand their Medicaid programs; however, over half of our licensed beds at December 31, 2023 were located in five states, namely Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, that have not expanded Medicaid under the law.

More recent healthcare-related reform efforts at the federal and state levels include initiatives, requirements and proposals that could have a positive effect on our business, as well as others that may increase our operating costs, negatively impact our case mix, adversely affect the reimbursement we receive for our services or require us to expend resources to modify certain aspects of our operations. Moreover, some current reforms could impact our competitive position, as well as our relationships with insurers and patients, including:

•the No Surprises Act, which established federal protections that became effective in 2022 against balance billing for certain out‐of‐network services, including emergency care, and which, among other things, contains resolution procedures for payment disputes between providers and insurers through an impartial arbitration system; and

•CMS’ rules relating to hospital price transparency, which require that hospitals share payer-specific negotiated prices for certain healthcare services with the goal of making it easier for consumers to shop and compare prices across hospitals and estimate the cost of care before going to the hospital.

ANTIFRAUD AND ABUSE LAWS

A number of federal statutes, and the regulations implementing them, govern our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid payment programs, including:

•the anti‐kickback and antifraud and abuse amendments codified under Section 1128B(b) of the Social Security Act (the “Anti‐kickback Statute”), which prohibit the knowing and willful remuneration of anything of value intended to induce or reward patient referrals or the generation of business involving any item or service payable by federal healthcare programs, subject to certain government-established “safe harbor” exceptions;

•the False Claims Act (“FCA”), which prohibits the submission of claims for payment to government programs that are known to be, or should be known to be, fraudulent;

•the Stark law, which generally restricts physician referrals of Medicare or Medicaid patients to entities the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship with, regardless of any intent to violate the law, unless one of several exceptions applies; and

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•the Civil Monetary Penalties Law, which authorizes the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to impose civil penalties for various forms of fraud and abuse involving the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

States in which we operate have adopted laws that prohibit payments in exchange for patient referrals, similar to the federal Anti‐kickback Statute, or that otherwise prohibit fraud and abuse activities. Many states have also passed self‐referral legislation similar to the Stark law. Often these state laws are broader in scope in terms of the providers and services regulated, and certain of the laws apply regardless of the source of payment for care. These statutes typically provide for criminal and civil penalties, as well as loss of licensure.

Application to Our Operations—We regularly enter into financial arrangements with physicians and other providers in a manner we believe complies with the Anti‐kickback Statute, the Stark law, and other applicable antifraud and abuse laws. At December 31, 2023, the majority of the surgical hospitals and ASCs in our Ambulatory Care segment were owned by joint ventures with physicians and/or health systems. In addition, we have contracts with physicians and non‐physician referral sources providing for a variety of financial arrangements, including employment agreements, leases and professional service contracts, such as medical director agreements. We also provide financial incentives to recruit physicians to relocate to communities served by our hospitals, including income and collection guarantees and reimbursement of relocation costs.

As described below, the primary focus of our quality, compliance and ethics program is compliance with the requirements of Medicare, Medicaid and other federally funded healthcare programs. However, if our arrangements are found to fail to comply with applicable antifraud and abuse laws, our operations could be adversely affected. In addition, any determination by a federal or state agency or court that we or one of our subsidiaries has violated any of these laws could give certain of our joint venture partners or business process solutions clients a right to terminate their relationships with us. Moreover, any violations by and resulting penalties or exclusions imposed upon USPI’s joint venture partners could adversely affect their financial condition and, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Government Enforcement Efforts and Qui Tam Lawsuits—The healthcare industry is subject to heightened and coordinated civil and criminal enforcement efforts from both federal and state government agencies. The U.S. Office of Inspector General, which is an independent and objective oversight unit of HHS, conducts audits, evaluations and investigations relating to HHS programs and operations and, when appropriate, imposes civil monetary penalties, assessments and administrative sanctions.

Healthcare providers are also subject to qui tam or “whistleblower” lawsuits under the FCA, which allows private individuals to bring actions on behalf of the government, alleging that a hospital or healthcare provider has defrauded a government program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. If the government intervenes in the action and prevails, the defendant may be required to pay three times the damages sustained by the government, plus mandatory civil penalties for each false claim submitted to the government. As part of the resolution of a qui tam case, the qui tam plaintiff may share in a portion of any settlement or judgment. If the government does not intervene in the action, the qui tam plaintiff may continue to pursue the action independently. Qui tam actions can also be filed under certain state false claims laws if the fraud involves Medicaid funds or funding from state and local agencies.

We have paid significant amounts to resolve government investigations and qui tam matters brought against us in the past, and we are unable to predict the impact of any future actions on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) requires administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of protected health information (“PHI”) and sets forth the rights of patients to understand and control how their information is used and disclosed. We have developed an expansive set of policies and procedures in our efforts to comply with HIPAA, and similar state privacy laws, under the guidance of our ethics and compliance department. Our compliance officers and information security officers are responsible for implementing and monitoring enterprise‐wide compliance with our HIPAA privacy and security policies and procedures. We have also created an internal web‐based HIPAA training program, which is mandatory for all employees.

Under HIPAA, we are required to report breaches of unsecured PHI to affected individuals without unreasonable delay, but not longer than 60 days following discovery of the breach. We are also required to notify HHS and, in certain situations involving large breaches, the media. All non-permitted uses or disclosures of unsecured PHI are presumed to be breaches unless it can be established that there is a low probability the information has been compromised. Various state laws

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and regulations may also require us to notify the applicable state agency and affected individuals in the event of a data breach involving personally identifiable information (“PII”).

Violations of the HIPAA privacy and security regulations may result in criminal penalties and in substantial civil penalties per violation. In addition to enforcement by HHS, state attorneys general are authorized to bring civil actions seeking either injunction or damages in response to violations of HIPAA privacy and security regulations that threaten the privacy of state residents. HHS may resolve HIPAA violations through informal means, such as allowing a company to implement a corrective action plan, but HHS has the discretion to move directly to impose monetary penalties and is required to impose penalties for violations resulting from willful neglect. We are also subject to any federal or state privacy-related laws that are more restrictive than the privacy regulations issued under HIPAA. These laws vary and could impose additional penalties and subject us to additional privacy and security restrictions. In addition, various states have enacted, and other states are considering, new laws and regulations concerning the privacy and security of consumer and other personal information. To the extent we are subject to such requirements, these laws and regulations often have far-reaching effects, are subject to amendments, changing requirements and updates to regulators’ enforcement priorities, may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies, may require us to incur substantial costs and expenses to comply, and may subject our business to a risk of increased potential liability. These laws and regulations often provide for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches, which may increase the likelihood or impact of data breach litigation.

UTILIZATION REVIEW COMPLIANCE AND HOSPITAL GOVERNANCE

The Social Security Act and Medicare regulations generally require that services that may be paid for under the Medicare program or state healthcare programs are (1) provided economically and only when, and to the extent, they are medically reasonable and necessary, (2) of a quality that meets professionally recognized standards of healthcare, and (3) supported by appropriate evidence of medical necessity and quality. The Quality Improvement Organization program established under the Social Security Act seeks: to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, economy and quality of services delivered to Medicare beneficiaries; to preserve the Medicare Trust Fund by ensuring that Medicare pays only for services that are reasonable and necessary and that are provided in the most appropriate setting; and to protect Medicare beneficiaries by expeditiously addressing complaints, violations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, and other quality‐related issues.

Medical and surgical services and practices are extensively supervised by committees of staff physicians at each of our healthcare facilities, are overseen by each facility’s local governing board, the members of which primarily are community members and physicians, and are reviewed by our clinical quality personnel. The local governing board also helps maintain standards for quality care, develop short‐term and long‐range plans, and establish, review and enforce practices and procedures, as well as approves the credentials, disciplining and, if necessary, the termination of privileges of medical staff members.

CERTIFICATE OF NEED REQUIREMENTS

Some states require state approval for construction, acquisition and closure of healthcare facilities, including findings of need for additional or expanded healthcare facilities or services. Certificates or determinations of need, which are issued by governmental agencies with jurisdiction over healthcare facilities, are at times required for capital expenditures exceeding a prescribed amount, changes in bed capacity or services, and certain other matters. Our subsidiaries operate acute care hospitals in five states that require a form of state approval under certificate of need programs applicable to those hospitals. Approximately 34% of our licensed hospital beds are located in these states (namely, Alabama, Massachusetts, Michigan, South Carolina and Tennessee). The certificate of need programs in most of these states, along with several others, also apply to ASCs.

Failure to obtain necessary state approval can result in the inability to expand facilities, add services, acquire a facility or change ownership. Further, violation of such laws may result in the imposition of civil sanctions or the revocation of a facility’s license. We are unable to predict whether we will be required or able to obtain any additional certificates of need in any jurisdiction where they are required, or if any jurisdiction will eliminate or alter its certificate of need requirements in a manner that will increase competition and, thereby, affect our competitive position. In those states that do not have certificate of need requirements or that do not require review of healthcare capital expenditure amounts below a relatively high threshold, competition in the form of new services, facilities and capital spending may be more prevalent.

ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS

Our healthcare operations are subject to a number of federal, state and local environmental laws, rules and regulations that govern, among other things, our disposal of solid waste, as well as our use, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous and toxic materials (including radiological materials). Our operations also generate medical waste that must be

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discarded in compliance with statutes and regulations that vary from state to state. In addition, our operating expenses could be adversely affected if legal and regulatory developments related to climate change or other initiatives result in increased energy or other costs. Moreover, we could be affected by climate change and other environmental issues to the extent such issues adversely affect the general economy or result in severe weather affecting the communities in which our facilities are located.

At this time, based on current climate conditions and our assessment of existing and pending environmental rules and regulations, as well as treaties and international accords relating to climate change, we do not believe that the costs of complying with environmental laws, including regulations relating to climate change issues, will have a material adverse effect on our future capital expenditures, results of operations or cash flows. There were no material capital expenditures for environmental matters in the year ended December 31, 2023.

Additional information regarding our approach to environmental matters can be found in our most recent ESG Report, which is available on our website. The information found on our website, including the information in our ESG Reports, is not incorporated by reference into nor part of this or any other report or document we file with or furnish to the SEC.

ANTITRUST LAWS

The federal government and most states have enacted antitrust laws that prohibit specific types of anti‐competitive conduct, including price fixing, wage fixing, anticompetitive hiring practices, restrictive covenants, concerted refusals to deal, price discrimination and tying arrangements, as well as monopolization and acquisitions of competitors that have, or may have, a substantial adverse effect on competition. Violations of federal or state antitrust laws can result in various sanctions, including criminal and civil penalties.

Antitrust enforcement in the healthcare industry is a priority of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and analogous state regulatory agencies. In recent years, the FTC has filed multiple administrative complaints and public comments challenging hospital transactions in several states. The FTC has focused its enforcement efforts on preventing hospital mergers that may, in the government’s view, leave insufficient local options for patient services, which could result in increased costs to consumers. In December 2023, John Muir announced it no longer intended to pursue its proposed acquisition of our 51% ownership interest in San Ramon Regional Medical Center and certain related operations after the FTC took action to challenge the transaction. In addition to hospital merger enforcement, the FTC has given increased attention to the effect of combinations involving other healthcare providers, including physician practices, as well as to the use of restrictive covenants that limit the ability of employees and others to engage in certain competitive activities. The FTC has also entered into numerous consent decrees in the past several years settling allegations of price‐fixing among providers. Moreover, a number of states have recently enacted antitrust laws requiring state agency notification and review of proposed healthcare industry transactions that are below federal reporting thresholds. The potential impact and future enforcement of these recently enacted laws remain uncertain.

LAWS AND REGULATIONS AFFECTING REVENUE CYCLE MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Conifer is subject to civil and criminal statutes and regulations governing consumer finance, medical billing, coding, collections and other operations. In connection with these laws and regulations, Conifer has been and may continue to be party to various lawsuits, claims, and federal and state regulatory investigations from time to time. 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 Conifer or the effect that judgments, penalties or settlements in such matters may have.

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) regulates persons who regularly collect or attempt to collect, directly or indirectly, consumer debts owed or asserted to be owed to another person. Certain of the accounts receivable handled by Conifer’s third‐party debt collection vendors are subject to the FDCPA, which establishes specific guidelines and procedures that debt collectors must follow in communicating with consumer debtors, including the time, place and manner of such communications. We audit and monitor our vendors for compliance, but there can be no assurance that such audits and monitoring will detect all instances of potential non‐compliance.

Many states also regulate the billing and collection practices of creditors who collect their own debt, as well as the companies a creditor engages to bill and collect from consumers on the creditor’s behalf. These state regulations may be more stringent than the FDCPA. In addition, state regulations may be specific to medical billing and collections or the same or similar to state regulations applicable to third‐party collectors. Certain of the accounts receivable Conifer or its billing, servicing and collections subsidiary, PSS Patient Solution Services, LLC, manages for its clients are subject to these state regulations.

Conifer is also subject to both federal and state regulatory agencies who have the authority to investigate consumer complaints relating to unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices, as well as a variety of consumer protection laws,

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including but not limited to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and all applicable state equivalents. These agencies may initiate enforcement actions, including actions to seek restitution and monetary penalties from, or to require changes in business practices of, regulated entities. In addition, affected consumers may bring suits, including class action suits, to seek monetary remedies (including statutory damages) for violations of the federal and state provisions discussed above.

LAWS AND REGULATIONS AFFECTING OUR GBC

Our operations at our GBC in the Philippines are subject to certain U.S. healthcare industry-specific requirements, as well as U.S. and foreign laws applicable to businesses generally, including anti-corruption laws. One such law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), regulates U.S. companies in their dealings with foreign officials, prohibiting bribes and similar practices, and requires that they maintain records that fairly and accurately reflect transactions and appropriate internal accounting controls. FCPA enforcement actions continue to be a high priority for the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice. Our failure to comply with the FCPA could result in the imposition of fines and other civil and criminal penalties, which could be significant.

COMPLIANCE AND ETHICS

General—Our ethics and compliance department maintains our values‐based ethics and compliance program, which is designed to: (1) help staff in our corporate and USPI offices, hospitals, outpatient centers and physician practices meet or exceed applicable standards established by federal and state statutes and regulations, as well as industry practice; (2) monitor and raise awareness of ethical issues among employees and others, and stress the importance of understanding and complying with our Code of Conduct; and (3) provide a channel for employees to make confidential ethics and compliance‐related reports anonymously if they choose. The ethics and compliance department operates independently – it has its own operating budget; it has the authority to hire outside counsel, access any company document and interview any of our personnel; and our chief compliance officer reports directly to our chief executive officer, as well as to the quality, compliance and ethics committee of our board of directors.

Program Charter—Our Quality, Compliance and Ethics Program Charter is the governing document for our ethics and compliance program. Our adherence to the charter is intended to:

•support and maintain our present and future responsibilities with regard to participation in federal healthcare programs; and

•further our goals of operating an organization that (1) fosters and maintains the highest ethical standards among all employees, officers and directors, physicians practicing at our facilities, and contractors that furnish healthcare items or services, (2) values compliance with all state and federal statutes and regulations as a foundation of its corporate philosophy, and (3) aligns its behaviors and decisions with Tenet’s core values.

The primary focus of our quality, compliance and ethics program is compliance with the requirements of Medicare, Medicaid and other federally funded healthcare programs. Pursuant to the terms of the charter, our ethics and compliance department is responsible for, among other things, the following activities: (1) assessing, critiquing, and (as appropriate) drafting and distributing company policies and procedures; (2) developing, providing, and tracking ethics and compliance training and other training programs, including job‐specific training to those who work in clinical quality, coding, billing, cost reporting and referral source arrangements, in collaboration with the respective department responsible for oversight of each of these areas; (3) creating and disseminating our Code of Conduct and obtaining certifications of adherence to the Code of Conduct as a condition of employment; (4) maintaining and promoting our Ethics Action Line, a 24‐hour, toll‐free hotline that allows for confidential reporting of issues on an anonymous basis and emphasizes our no‐retaliation policy; and (5) responding to and resolving all compliance‐related issues that arise from the Ethics Action Line and compliance reports received from facilities and compliance officers (utilizing any compliance reporting software that we may employ for this purpose) or any other source that results in a report to the ethics and compliance department.

Code of Conduct—All of our employees and officers, including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer and principal accounting officer, are required to abide by our Code of Conduct to advance our mission that our business be conducted in a legal and ethical manner. The members of our board of directors and all of our contractors having functional roles similar to our employees are also required to abide by our Code of Conduct. The standards therein reflect our basic values and form the foundation of a comprehensive process that includes compliance with all corporate policies, procedures and practices. Our Code of Conduct covers such areas as quality patient care, compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations, appropriate use of our assets, protection of patient information and avoidance of conflicts of interest.

As part of the program, we provide compliance training at least annually to every employee and officer, as well as our board of directors and certain physicians and contractors. All such persons are required to report incidents that they believe in

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good faith may be in violation of the Code of Conduct or our policies, and all are encouraged to contact our Ethics Action Line when they have questions about any aspect of our Code of Conduct or any ethics concerns. All reports to the Ethics Action Line are kept confidential to the extent allowed by law, and any individual who makes a report has the option to remain anonymous. Incidents of alleged financial improprieties reported to the Ethics Action Line or the ethics and compliance department are communicated to the audit committee of our board of directors. Reported cases that involve a possible violation of the law or regulatory policies and procedures are referred to the ethics and compliance department for investigation, although certain matters may be referred to the law or human resources department. Retaliation against anyone in connection with reporting ethical concerns is considered a serious violation of our Code of Conduct, and, if it occurs, it will result in discipline, up to and including termination of employment.

Availability of Documents—The full text of our Quality, Compliance and Ethics Program Charter, our Code of Conduct, and a number of our ethics and compliance policies and procedures are published on our website, at www.tenethealth.com, under the “Our Commitment to Compliance” caption in the “About” section. Amendments to the Code of Conduct and any grant of a waiver from a provision of the Code of Conduct requiring disclosure under applicable SEC rules will be disclosed at the same location as the Code of Conduct on our website.

INSURANCE

The healthcare industry has seen significant increases in the cost of professional and general liability insurance due to increased claims and lawsuits in the ordinary course of business. We maintain captive insurance companies to self‐insure for the majority of our professional and general liability claims, and we purchase insurance from third parties to cover catastrophic claims. Commercial insurance we purchase is subject to per‐claim and policy period aggregate limits. If the policy period aggregate limit of any of these policies is exhausted, in whole or in part, it could deplete or reduce the limits available to pay other material claims applicable to that policy period. Any losses not covered by or in excess of the amounts maintained under our professional and general liability insurance policies will be funded from our working capital or other sources of liquidity.

In addition to the reserves recorded by our captive insurance subsidiaries, we maintain reserves, including reserves for incurred but not reported claims, for our self‐insured professional liability retentions and claims in excess of the policies’ aggregate limits, based on modeled estimates of losses and related expenses. Also, we provide standby letters of credit to some of our insurers, which can be drawn upon under certain circumstances, to collateralize the deductible and self‐insured retentions under a select number of our professional and general liability insurance programs.

We also purchase property, cyber-liability and other insurance coverage from third parties. Our commercial insurance does not cover all claims against us and may not offset the financial impact of a material loss event. Moreover, commercial insurance may not continue to be available at a reasonable cost for us to maintain at adequate levels. The rise in the number and severity of hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and other weather events, whether or not precipitated by climate change, has created increased risk that is expected to lead to a rise in insurance premiums and reductions in coverage for property owners in the future. In addition, the risk of ransomware attacks, breaches or other disruptions to information technology systems is elevated in the current environment, which has caused an increase in cyber premiums and lower coverage limits. In April 2022, we experienced a cybersecurity incident that temporarily disrupted a subset of our hospital operations and involved the exfiltration of certain confidential company and patient information. We incurred significant costs to remediate the issues, sustained lost revenues from the associated business interruption and incurred other related expenses, and we have filed a claim that may exhaust our policy limits. For further information regarding our insurance coverage, see Note 16 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, that may cause our actual operating results or financial performance to be materially different from our expectations and make an investment in our securities risky. If one or more of the events discussed in this report were to occur, actual outcomes could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by any forward‐looking statements we make in this report or our other filings with the SEC, and our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially adversely affected; furthermore, the

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trading price of our common stock could decline and our shareholders could lose all or part of their investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known, or currently deemed immaterial, may also constrain our business and operations.

Risks Related to Our Overall Operations

If we are unable to enter into, maintain and renew managed care contractual arrangements on competitive terms, if we experience material reductions in the contracted rates we receive from managed care payers or if we have difficulty collecting from managed care payers, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our ability to enter into, maintain and renew favorable contracts with HMOs, insurers offering preferred provider arrangements and other managed care plans, as well as add new facilities to our existing agreements at contracted rates, significantly affects our revenues and operating results. For the year ended December 31, 2023, approximately 70%, or $10.248 billion, of our net patient service revenues for the hospitals and related outpatient facilities in our Hospital Operations segment was attributable to managed care payers, including Medicare and Medicaid managed care programs. Moreover, in 2023, our commercial managed care net inpatient revenue per admission from the hospitals in our Hospital Operations segment was approximately 86% higher than our aggregate yield on a per‐admission basis from government payers, including Medicare and Medicaid managed care programs.

The ongoing trend toward consolidation among non‐government payers tends to increase their bargaining power over contract terms. Generally, we compete for these contracts on the basis of price, market reputation, geographic location, quality and range of services, caliber of the medical staff and convenience. Our contracts with managed care payers require us to comply with a number of terms related to the provision of and billing for services. If we are unable to negotiate increased reimbursement rates, maintain existing rates or other favorable contract terms, effectively respond to managed care payer cost controls and reimbursement policies, or comply with the terms of our contracts, the payments we receive for our services may be reduced. Also, we are increasingly experiencing payment denials from managed care payers, both prospectively and retroactively.

We currently have thousands of managed care contracts with various HMOs and PPOs; however, our top 10 managed care payers generated 65% of our managed care net patient service revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023. Because of this concentration, we may experience a short‐ or long‐term adverse effect on our net operating revenues if we cannot renew, replace or otherwise mitigate the impact of expired contracts with significant payers. Furthermore, material payment delays and disputes between us and significant managed care payers could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. At December 31, 2023, 68% of our Hospital Operations segment’s net accounts receivable was due from managed care payers.

Private payers are increasingly attempting to control healthcare costs through direct contracting with hospitals to provide services on a discounted basis, increased utilization reviews and greater enrollment in managed care programs, such as HMOs and PPOs. Any negotiated discount programs we agree to generally limit our ability to increase reimbursement rates to offset increasing costs. In addition, enrollment of individuals in high-deductible health plans has increased over the last decade. In comparison to traditional health plans, these plans have higher co-pays and deductibles due from patients, which subjects us to increased collection risk. Moreover, high-deductible health plans may exclude our hospitals and employed physicians from coverage.

Our relationships with payers, and reimbursement for the care we provide, may be further impacted by clinical and price transparency initiatives and out‐of‐network billing restrictions, including those in the No Surprises Act, which took effect January 1, 2022. In general, any material reductions in the contracted or out-of-network rates we receive for our services or any significant difficulties in collecting receivables from managed care payers could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Future changes in healthcare laws generally, and the Medicare and Medicaid programs or other government healthcare programs specifically, including reductions in scale and scope, could have an adverse effect on our business.

We cannot predict whether or how the Affordable Care Act may be modified, amended or implemented in the future, and we are also unable to predict the impacts on our business from the enactment of, or changes in, other statutes and regulations affecting the healthcare industry generally. Some initiatives, requirements and proposals could increase our operating costs, negatively impact our patient volumes, case mix and revenue mix, adversely affect the reimbursement we receive for our services or require us to expend resources to modify certain aspects of our operations. Moreover, some current reforms could impact our competitive position, as well as our relationships with insurers and patients, including the No Surprises Act and CMS’ rules relating to hospital price transparency.

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We are also unable to predict the effect of future government healthcare funding policy changes on our operations. If the rates paid by governmental payers are reduced, if the scope of services covered by governmental payers is limited, or if we or one or more of our hospitals are excluded from participation in the Medicare or Medicaid program or any other government healthcare program, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, approximately 16% and 8% of our net patient service revenues for the hospitals and related outpatient facilities in our Hospital Operations segment were from the Medicare program and various state Medicaid programs, respectively, in each case excluding Medicare and Medicaid managed care programs. The Medicare and Medicaid programs are subject to:

•statutory and regulatory changes, administrative and judicial rulings, interpretations and determinations concerning patient eligibility requirements, funding levels and the method of calculating reimbursements, among other things;

•requirements for utilization review; and

•federal and state funding restrictions.

Any of these factors could materially increase or decrease payments from these government programs in the future, as well as affect the cost of providing services to our patients and the timing of payments to our facilities, which could in turn adversely affect our overall business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Several states in which we operate continue to face budgetary challenges that have resulted 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 where we operate have adopted supplemental payment programs under the Social Security Act. Continuing pressure on state budgets and other factors, including legislative and regulatory changes, could result in future reductions to Medicaid payments, payment delays or changes to Medicaid supplemental payment programs that could negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Federal government denials or delayed approvals of waiver applications or extension requests by the states where we operate could also materially impact our Medicaid funding levels.

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

It is essential to our ongoing business that we attract an appropriate number of quality physicians in the specialties required to support our services and that we maintain good relations with those physicians.

The success of our business and clinical program development depends in large part on the number, quality, specialties, and admitting and scheduling practices of the licensed physicians who are members of the medical staffs of our hospitals and other facilities, as well as physicians who affiliate with us and use our facilities as an extension of their practices. Physicians are often not employees of the hospitals or surgery centers at which they practice. Members of the medical staffs of our facilities also often serve on the medical staffs of facilities we do not operate, and they are free to terminate their association with our facilities or admit their patients to competing facilities at any time. In addition, although physicians who own interests in our facilities are generally subject to agreements restricting them from owning an interest in competitive facilities, we may not learn of, or may be unsuccessful in preventing, our physician partners from acquiring interests in competitive facilities.

We compete with system‐affiliated hospitals and healthcare companies, as well as health insurers and private equity companies, in recruiting physicians, acquiring physician practices and, where permitted by law, employing physicians. In 2023, we continued to experience challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians. In some of the regions where we operate, physician recruitment and retention are affected by a shortage of qualified physicians in certain higher-demand clinical service lines and specialties. Furthermore, our ability to recruit and employ physicians is closely regulated. For example, the types, amount and duration of compensation and assistance we can provide to recruited physicians are limited by the federal Anti‐kickback Statute and Stark law, as well as other applicable antifraud and abuse laws and regulations. All arrangements with physicians must also be fair market value and commercially reasonable. If we are unable to attract and retain sufficient numbers of quality physicians by providing adequate support personnel, technologically advanced equipment, and facilities that

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meet the needs of those physicians and their patients, physicians may choose not to refer patients to our facilities, admissions and outpatient visits may decrease, and our operating performance may decline.

Our labor costs have been, and we expect will continue to be, adversely affected by competition for staffing, the shortage of experienced nurses and other healthcare professionals, and labor union activity.

Our operations are dependent on the availability, efforts, abilities and experience of management and medical support personnel, including nurses, therapists, pharmacists and lab technicians, among others. We have always competed with other healthcare providers in recruiting and retaining qualified employees; however, over the past several years, our industry has faced considerable workforce challenges. Like other hospital companies, we continue to experience shortages of advanced practice providers and critical‐care nurses in certain disciplines and geographic areas. The COVID‐19 pandemic exacerbated these shortages – and, thereby, competition for qualified candidates – as more employees chose to retire early, leave the workforce or take travel assignments. In addition, in some areas, the increased demand for care of patients with respiratory viruses at our facilities, as well as the direct impact of illnesses on physicians, employees and their families, have put a strain on our resources and staff.

We also depend on the available labor pool of semi‐skilled and unskilled workers in the areas where we operate. In some of our communities, employers across various industries have increased their minimum wage, which has created more competition and, in some cases, higher labor costs for this sector of employees. Furthermore, we expect that state-mandated minimum wage increases in California will result in an increase in compensation costs for certain of our employees and vendors beginning in 2024. State‐mandated nurse‐staffing ratios in California affect not only our labor costs, but they also cause us to limit admissions if we do not have the necessary number of nurses available to meet the required ratios, which has a corresponding adverse effect on our revenues. If other states adopt similarly restrictive staffing laws, these impacts would be compounded and could be material.

As a result of the aforementioned challenges, we have been, and we may continue to be, required to enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain experienced employees, pay premiums above standard compensation for essential workers, make greater investments in education and training for newly licensed medical support personnel, or hire more expensive temporary or contract employees, which we also compete with other healthcare providers to secure. In addition, we expect that inflationary pressures, which we are unable to predict or control, will continue to impact our salaries, wages, benefits and other costs.

Increased labor union activity is another factor that can adversely affect our labor costs. At December 31, 2023, approximately 23% of the employees in our Hospital Operations segment were represented by labor unions. 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. Organizing activities by labor unions could increase our level of union representation in future periods. When we are negotiating collective bargaining agreements with unions (whether such agreements are renewals or first contracts), work stoppages and strikes may be threatened or occur. Extended strikes have had, and could in the future have, an adverse effect on our patient volumes, net operating revenues and labor costs at individual hospitals or in local markets.

For the reasons stated above, our failure to successfully recruit qualified employees, manage attrition, avoid labor disruptions, control costs and plan for future labor needs could have a material adverse effect on our ability to treat patients and our overall business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Our hospitals, outpatient centers and other healthcare businesses operate in competitive environments, and this competition can adversely affect our operations.

We believe our hospitals and outpatient facilities compete within local communities on the basis of many factors, including: quality of care; location and ease of access; the scope and breadth of services offered; reputation; and the caliber of the facilities, equipment and employees. Furthermore, healthcare consumers are now able to access hospital performance data on quality measures and patient satisfaction, as well as standard charges for services, to compare competing providers. The No Surprises Act created additional price transparency requirements beginning January 1, 2022, including requiring providers to send to health plans of insured patients and to uninsured patients good faith estimates of the expected charges and diagnostic codes prior to the scheduled dates of services. If any of our hospitals achieve poor results (or results that are lower than our competitors) on quality measures or patient satisfaction surveys, or if our standard charges are or are perceived to be higher than our competitors, we may attract fewer patients. In addition, the competitive positions of hospitals and outpatient facilities depend in large part on the number, quality, specialties, and admitting and scheduling practices of the licensed physicians who are members of the medical staffs of those facilities, as well as physicians who affiliate with and use outpatient centers as an extension of their practices. We compete with system‐affiliated hospitals and healthcare companies, as well as health insurers

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and private equity companies, in recruiting physicians, acquiring physician practices and, where permitted by law, employing physicians.

Some of the hospitals that compete with our hospitals are owned by tax‐supported government agencies, and many others are owned by not‐for‐profit organizations that may have financial advantages not available to our facilities, including (1) support through endowments, charitable contributions and tax revenues, (2) access to tax‐exempt financing, and (3) exemptions from sales, property and income taxes. In addition, in certain areas where we operate, large teaching hospitals provide highly specialized facilities, equipment and services that may not be available at most of our hospitals. The existence or absence of state laws that require findings of need for construction and expansion of healthcare facilities or services may also impact competition. In recent years, the number of freestanding specialty hospitals, surgery centers, EDs, imaging centers and UCCs in the geographic areas where we operate has increased significantly. Some of these facilities are physician‐owned.

Another major factor in the competitive position of a hospital or outpatient facility is the scope of its relationships with managed care plans given that HMOs, PPOs, third‐party administrators and other third‐party payers use managed care contracts to encourage patients to use certain hospitals in exchange for discounts from the hospitals’ established charges. Generally, we compete for managed care contracts on the basis of price, market reputation, geographic location, quality and range of services, caliber of the medical staff and convenience. Other healthcare providers may affect our ability to enter into acceptable managed care contractual arrangements or negotiate commercial rate increases. For example, some of our competitors may negotiate exclusivity provisions with managed care plans or otherwise restrict the ability of managed care companies to contract with us. Vertical integration efforts involving third‐party payers and healthcare providers, among other factors, may increase competitive challenges.

If our healthcare competitors are better able to attract patients, recruit physicians, expand services or obtain favorable managed care contracts at their facilities than we are, we may experience an overall decline in patient volumes.

The market for our revenue cycle management services is also competitive. To be successful, we must respond more quickly and effectively than our competitors to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards, regulations and client requirements. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in generating new client relationships or maintaining existing relationships on favorable terms.

We cannot predict the future course and impacts of COVID-19, or the potential emergence and effects of a future pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease, on our operations, financial condition and liquidity.

New variants or future surges of COVID‐19, or the emergence or outbreak of another infectious disease, could adversely impact our patient volumes, service mix, revenue mix, operating expenses and net operating revenues in some markets or broadly across our enterprise, depending on how widespread the illness becomes. As previously experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, we could experience spikes in admissions at our hospitals, which may put a strain on our resources and personnel, and increased case cancellations in our Ambulatory Care segment. We have been required, and we may in the future be required, to temporarily reduce overall operating capacity or suspend certain services at individual facilities due to staffing constraints and other infectious disease-related factors.

Further, COVID‐19 surges, outbreaks of new variants and future pandemics, epidemics or outbreaks could exacerbate existing workforce shortages, result in significant price increases in medical supplies, particularly for personal protective equipment, and worsen supply shortages and delays, all of which may impact our ability to see, admit and treat patients.

In general, the future course and impacts of COVID-19, or the potential emergence and effects of a future pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease, on our operational and financial performance is uncertain and will depend on many factors outside of our control, including, among others: the duration, severity and trajectory of the illness, including the possible spread of potentially more contagious and/or virulent forms of the infection; future economic conditions, as well as the impact of government actions and administrative regulations on the hospital industry and broader economy, including through stimulus efforts; the development, availability and widespread use of effective medical treatments and vaccines; the imposition of public safety measures; the volume of canceled or rescheduled procedures at our facilities; and the volume of affected patients across our care network.

Our business could be significantly and negatively impacted by security threats, catastrophic events and other disruptions affecting our information technology and related information systems and confidential business data.

Our information technology systems are critical to the day‐to‐day operation of our business. We rely on our information technology to process, transmit and store clinical, financial and operational data that includes PHI, PII, and proprietary and confidential business data. We utilize electronic health records (“EHRs”) and other information technology in

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connection with all of our operations, including our billing and other financial systems, supply chain and labor management tools. Our systems, in turn, interface with and rely on third‐party systems that we do not control, including medical devices and other processes supporting the interoperability of healthcare infrastructures. We rely on these third‐party providers to have appropriate controls to protect our systems, confidential information and other sensitive or regulated data. While we seek to obtain assurances that third parties will protect our information and business operations, there is a risk the security of data held by such third parties could be breached or that systems are rendered unavailable causing direct business operations impacts.

The information technology and infrastructure we use, the third‐party systems we interact with and the suppliers we use, have been, and will likely continue to be, subject to cyber attacks, computer viruses or breaches due to malfeasance or employee error. In April 2022, we experienced a cybersecurity incident that temporarily disrupted a subset of our hospital operations and involved the exfiltration of certain confidential company and patient information. Threat actors continue to proliferate, adapt and devote significant effort to attacking the information systems and electronically transmitted and stored data of healthcare providers and related entities. The risk of cyber attack (including ransomware attack), breach or other disruption to healthcare systems, including ours, remains elevated in the current environment.

Attacks on, or breaches or other disruptions to, our information technology assets or those of third parties that we rely upon could impact the integrity, security or availability of data we process, transmit or store and could impact our operations, as well as patient PHI and customer PII. The preventive actions we take to reduce the risk of such incidents and protect our information technology and data may not be sufficient. As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, we may not be able to anticipate certain attack methods in order to implement effective protective measures. We continue to be required to expend significant additional resources to modify and strengthen our security measures, investigate and respond to cybersecurity incidents, remediate any vulnerabilities in our information systems and infrastructure, and invest in new technology designed to mitigate security risks. Our insurance against cybersecurity risks and cyber attacks may not provide the coverage we anticipate or offset the financial impact of a material loss event. In addition, the occurrence of cybersecurity incidents and the continued and elevated risk of attacks (including ransomware), system and data breaches, and other disruptions to information technology systems in the current environment has caused increases in our cyber premiums and lower coverage limits.

Third parties to whom we outsource certain of our functions, that are part of our supply chain or with whom our systems interface and who may, in some instances, store our sensitive and confidential data, are also subject to the risks outlined above and may not have or use controls effective to protect such information. An attack, breach or other system disruption affecting any of these third parties could similarly harm our business. Further, successful cyber attacks at other healthcare services companies, whether or not we are impacted, could lead to a general loss of consumer confidence in our industry that could negatively affect us, including harming the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures or of the healthcare industry in general, which could result in reduced use of our services.

Our networks and technology systems have also experienced disruption due to planned events, such as system implementations, upgrades, and other maintenance and improvements, and they are subject to disruption in the future for similar events, as well as catastrophic events, including a major earthquake, fire, hurricane, telecommunications failure, terrorist attack or the like.

Any ransomware attack, breach, system interruption or unavailability of our information systems or of third-party systems with access to our data could result in: the unauthorized disclosure, misuse, loss or corruption of such data; interruptions and delays in our normal business operations (including the collection of revenues); patient harm; potential liability under privacy, security, consumer protection or other applicable laws; regulatory penalties; ransomware payments; and negative publicity and damage to our reputation. Any of these could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We are subject to operational cybersecurity risks that could materially impact our business.

Because we operate an expansive, nationwide healthcare delivery network, changes to our information systems often take months or years to implement, are costly and, in some circumstances, are not compatible with other applications and devices in use. In addition, when we acquire facilities, physician practices and other operations, it takes time and resources to assess the security in place, and then implement and integrate our security practices at the acquired businesses. As a result, we operate these businesses for a period of time with their existing security programs, which may include deficiencies or vulnerabilities. We must prioritize changes and improvements to be made, and we may not be successful identifying gaps or developing alternative methods to secure our systems and data. If we are not successful, we may be more vulnerable to cybersecurity incidents that could have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, not all standard cybersecurity tools and solutions we use are employed at all locations, as expansion of tool and solution use is based

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on numerous factors. There is no guarantee that we will employ the right tools and solutions at each location or that the expansion of certain tools and solutions will be successful.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence (“AI”) are increasingly driving innovations in technology, and some of our facilities employ robotics, clinical diagnostic AI tools and similar systems. If these technologies or applications fail to operate as anticipated or do not perform as specified, including due to potential design defects and defects in the development of algorithms or other technologies, human error or otherwise, we may be subject to liability and reputational harm. If we are unable to successfully maintain, enhance or operate our information systems, including through the implementation of such technologies or applications in our operations, we may be, among other things, unable to efficiently adapt to evolving laws and requirements, unable to remain competitive with others who successfully implement and advance this technology, and our patients’ safety may be adversely impacted, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our overall business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

The industry trends toward value-based purchasing and alternative payment models may negatively impact our revenues.

Value‐based purchasing and alternative payment model initiatives of both governmental and private payers tying financial incentives to quality and efficiency of care are increasingly affecting the results of operations of our hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and may negatively impact our revenues if we are unable to meet expected quality standards. Medicare requires providers to report certain quality measures in order to receive full reimbursement increases for inpatient and outpatient procedures that were previously awarded automatically; each year, CMS updates these measures through refinement or removal of existing measures and the addition of new measures. Moreover, hospitals that meet or exceed certain quality performance standards will receive increased reimbursement payments, and hospitals that have “excess readmissions” for specified conditions will receive reduced reimbursement. The COVID‐19 pandemic was a disruptive force for CMS’ quality measurement programs; as a result, we expect there will continue to be volatility with respect to readmission penalties in the near term. Furthermore, Medicare no longer pays hospitals additional amounts for the treatment of certain hospital‐acquired conditions (“HACs”), unless the conditions were present at admission. Hospitals that rank in the worst 25% of all hospitals nationally for HACs in the previous year receive reduced Medicare reimbursements. In addition, the Affordable Care Act prohibits the use of federal funds under the Medicaid program to reimburse providers for treating certain provider‐preventable conditions.

The Affordable Care Act also created the CMS Innovation Center to develop and test innovative payment and service delivery models that have the potential to reduce Medicare, Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care for beneficiaries. Congress has defined – both through the Affordable Care Act and previous legislation – a number of specific demonstrations for CMS to conduct, including bundled payment models. Generally, the bundled payment models hold hospitals financially accountable for the quality and costs for an entire episode of care for a specific diagnosis or procedure from the date of the hospital admission or inpatient procedure through 90 days post‐discharge, including services not provided by the hospital, such as physician, inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing and home health care. Provider participation in some of these models is voluntary; however, participation in certain other bundled payment arrangements is mandatory for providers located in randomly selected geographic locations. Under the mandatory models, hospitals are eligible to receive incentive payments or will be subject to payment reductions within certain corridors based on their performance against quality and spending criteria. It is difficult to predict what impact, if any, these demonstration programs will have on our inpatient volumes, net revenues or cash flows.

There are also trends among private payers toward value‐based purchasing and alternative payment models for healthcare services. Many large commercial payers expect hospitals to report quality data, and several of these payers will not reimburse hospitals for certain preventable adverse events. Value‐based purchasing programs, including programs that condition reimbursement on patient outcome measures, may become more common and may involve a higher percentage of reimbursement amounts.

We are unable at this time to predict how the industry trends toward value‐based purchasing and alternative payment models will affect our future results of operations, but they could negatively impact our revenues, particularly if we are unable to meet the quality and cost standards established by both governmental and private payers.

Violations of existing regulations or failure to comply with new or changed regulations could harm our business and financial results.

Our hospitals, outpatient centers and related healthcare businesses are subject to an extensive and complex framework of government regulation at the federal, state and local levels. These legal and regulatory standards relate to, among other topics: ownership and operation of facilities and physician practices; licensure, certification and enrollment in government

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programs; the necessity and adequacy of medical care; quality of medical equipment and services; relationships with and qualifications of physicians and employees; operating conduct, policies and procedures; screening, stabilization and transfer of individuals who have emergency medical conditions; rate‐setting, billing and coding for services; the preparation and filing of cost reports; the handling of overpayments; contractual arrangements; relationships with referral sources and referral recipients; privacy and security; maintenance of adequate records; construction, acquisition, expansion and closure of healthcare facilities or services; environmental protection; compliance with fire prevention and building codes; debt collection; and communications with patients and consumers. In addition, various permits are required to dispense narcotics, operate pharmacies, handle radioactive materials and operate certain equipment. Our facilities are also subject to periodic inspection by governmental and other authorities to determine their compliance with applicable regulations, as well as the standards necessary for licensing and accreditation.

The policies and procedures we have in place to facilitate compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations cannot ensure compliance in every case. Moreover, government regulations often change, and we may have to make adjustments to our facilities, equipment, personnel and services to remain in compliance. The potential consequences for failing to comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations include (1) required refunds of previously received government program payments, (2) the assessment of civil monetary penalties, including treble damages, (3) fines, which could be significant, (4) exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs and (5) criminal sanctions, including sanctions against current or former employees. Our Medicare and Medicaid payments may be suspended pending even an investigation of what the government determines to be a credible allegation of fraud. Any of the aforementioned consequences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Furthermore, even a public announcement that we are being investigated for possible violations of law could have a material adverse effect on the value of our common stock and our business reputation could suffer.

As noted, the healthcare industry continues to attract much legislative interest and public attention. We are unable to predict the future course of federal, state and local healthcare legislation, regulation or enforcement efforts. Further changes in the regulatory framework negatively affecting healthcare providers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Violations of existing consumer protection regulations or failure to comply with new or changed regulations could harm our revenue cycle management services business.

Conifer is subject to numerous federal, state and local consumer protection and other laws governing such topics as privacy, financial services, and billing and collections activities. Regulations related to such laws are subject to changing interpretations that may be inconsistent among different jurisdictions. In addition, a regulatory determination made by, or a settlement or consent decree entered into with, one regulatory agency may not be binding upon, or preclude, investigations or regulatory actions by other agencies. Conifer’s failure to comply with applicable consumer protection and other laws could result in, among other things, the issuance of cease and desist orders (which can include orders for restitution or rescission of contracts, as well as other kinds of affirmative relief), the imposition of fines or refunds, and other civil and criminal penalties, some of which could be significant in the case of knowing or reckless violations. In addition, Conifer’s failure to comply with the statutes and regulations applicable to it could result in a reduced demand for services, invalidate all or portions of some services agreements with clients, give clients the right to terminate services agreements or give rise to contractual liabilities, among other things, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, if Conifer becomes subject to fines or other penalties, it could harm Conifer’s reputation, thereby making it more difficult to retain existing clients or attract new clients.

We could be subject to substantial uninsured liabilities or increased insurance costs as a result of significant legal actions.

We are subject to medical malpractice lawsuits, antitrust claims and other legal actions in the ordinary course of business. In addition, from time to time, we have been and expect to continue to be subject to regulatory proceedings and private litigation (including employee class action lawsuits) concerning our application of various federal and state labor laws, rules and regulations governing a variety of workplace wage and hour issues. Some of these actions involve large demands, as well as substantial defense costs. Even in states that have imposed caps on damages, litigants are seeking recoveries under new theories of liability that might not be subject to such caps. Our commercial insurance does not cover all claims against us and may not offset the financial impact of a material loss event. Moreover, commercial insurance may not continue to be available at a reasonable cost for us to maintain at adequate levels. 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 or on our insurance costs. Additionally, professional and general liability insurance we purchase is subject to per-claim and policy period aggregate limits. If the policy period aggregate limit of any of these policies is exhausted, in whole or in part, it could deplete or reduce the limits available to pay other material claims applicable to that policy period. Any losses not covered by or in excess of the amounts maintained

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under insurance policies will be funded from our working capital or other sources of liquidity. Furthermore, one or more of our insurance carriers could become insolvent and unable to fulfill its or their obligations to defend, pay or reimburse us when those obligations become due. In that case or if payments of claims exceed our estimates or are not covered by insurance, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Any future cost-reduction initiatives may not deliver the benefits we expect, and actions taken may adversely affect our business.

Our future financial performance and level of profitability may depend, in part, on various cost‐reduction initiatives, including the outsourcing of certain functions unrelated to direct patient care. We may encounter challenges in executing cost‐reduction initiatives and not achieve the intended cost savings. In addition, we may face wrongful termination, discrimination or other legal claims from employees affected by any workforce reductions, and we may incur substantial costs defending against such claims, regardless of their merits. The threat of such claims may also significantly increase our severance costs. Workforce reductions, whether as a result of internal restructuring or in connection with outsourcing efforts, may result in the loss of numerous long‐term employees, the loss of institutional knowledge and expertise, the reallocation of certain job responsibilities and the disruption of business continuity, all of which could negatively affect operational efficiencies and increase our operating expenses in the short term. Moreover, outsourcing and offshoring expose us to additional risks, such as reduced control over operational quality and timing, foreign political and economic instability, compliance and regulatory challenges, and natural disasters not typically experienced in the United States, such as volcanic activity and tsunamis.

Adverse financial trends affecting our actual or anticipated results may require us to record impairment and restructuring charges that may negatively impact our results of operations.

As a result of factors that have negatively affected our industry generally and our business specifically, we have been, and in the future expect to be, required to record various charges in our results of operations. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded $43 million of impairment charges and $79 million of restructuring charges. 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 each facility’s most recent projections. If these projections are not met, or negative trends occur that impact our future outlook, future impairments of long‐lived assets and goodwill may occur, and we may incur additional restructuring charges, which could be material. We believe significant factors that contribute to adverse financial trends include reductions in volumes of insured patients, shifts in payer mix from commercial to governmental payers combined with reductions in reimbursement rates from governmental payers, and high levels of uninsured patients. Future restructuring of our operating structure that changes our goodwill reporting units could also result in future impairments of our goodwill. Any such charges could negatively impact our results of operations.

Inflation, consumer behavior and other economic factors have had, and may continue to have, an adverse impact on our volumes and our ability to collect outstanding receivables on a timely basis, among other things.

Our business has been impacted by the rise in inflation and its effects on salaries, wages and benefits, as well as other costs. Additional economic factors, including unemployment rates and consumer spending, affect our patient volumes, service mix and revenue mix. Business closings and layoffs in the areas where we operate may lead to increases in the uninsured and underinsured populations and adversely affect demand for our services, as well as the ability of patients to pay for services. Any significant deterioration in the collectability of patient accounts receivable could adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations.

Medical supply prices remain high due to current economic conditions and other factors. In addition, our Ambulatory Care segment continues to be impacted by shipment delays in construction materials and capital equipment with respect to its de novo facility development efforts, which are a key part of our portfolio expansion strategy. Supply chain operational challenges may continue or worsen in the future, whether due to geopolitical conflicts, inflationary pressures and the recessionary environment, climate change, weather events or other issues yet to emerge.

If general economic conditions deteriorate or remain uncertain for an extended period of time, our liquidity and ability to repay our outstanding debt may be impacted, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to raise additional funds on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

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Risks Related to Acquisitions, Divestitures and Joint Ventures

When we acquire new assets or businesses, we become subject to various risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We have completed a number of acquisitions in recent years, and we expect to pursue additional transactions in the future. A key business strategy for USPI, in particular, is the acquisition and development of facilities, primarily through the formation of joint ventures with physicians and health system partners. With respect to planned or future transactions, we cannot provide any assurances that we will be able to identify suitable candidates, consummate transactions on terms that are favorable to us, or achieve synergies or other benefits in a timely manner or at all. Furthermore, companies or operations we acquire may not be profitable or may not achieve the profitability that justifies the investments made. Businesses we acquire may also have pre‐existing unknown or contingent liabilities, including liabilities for failure to comply with applicable healthcare regulations. These liabilities could be significant, and, if we are unable to exclude them from the acquisition transaction or successfully obtain and pursue indemnification from a third party or insurance proceeds, they could harm our business and financial condition. In addition, we may be unable to timely and effectively integrate ASCs, physician practices and other businesses that we acquire with our ongoing operations, or we may experience delays implementing operating procedures, personnel and systems, which could impact the financial performance of the acquired business. Significant acquisitions have required, and may in the future require, a substantial investment of time and resources across our enterprise; these efforts may affect management focus and impact our ability to properly prioritize and successfully execute on our other strategic initiatives. Moreover, future acquisitions could result in the incurrence of additional debt and contingent liabilities, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, and increased operating expenses, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We cannot provide any assurances that we will be successful in divesting assets we wish to sell.

From time to time, we pursue opportunities to refine our portfolio of hospitals and other healthcare facilities when we believe such refinements will help us improve profitability, allocate capital more effectively in areas where we have a stronger presence, deploy proceeds on higher-return investments across our business, enhance cash flow generation and reduce our debt, among other things. We also periodically exit service lines and businesses that are no longer a core part of our long‐term growth and synergy strategies. We cannot provide any assurances that completed, planned or future divestitures or other strategic transactions will achieve their business goals or the benefits we expect.

We have in the past, and may in the future, fail to obtain applicable regulatory approvals, including FTC clearances, with respect to planned divestitures of assets or businesses. Most recently, in December 2023, John Muir announced it no longer intended to pursue its proposed acquisition of our 51% ownership interest in San Ramon Regional Medical Center and certain related operations after the FTC took action to challenge the transaction. 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 (as discussed above) or agree to contractual restrictions that limit our ability to reenter a particular market, which may be material. Many of our hospital divestitures also necessitate us entering into a transition services agreement with the buyer for information technology and other related services. As a consequence, we may be exposed to the financial status of the buyer for any payments under such transition services agreements or for transferred contractual liabilities, which could be significant. Our divestitures also include the assignment of contracts, such as leases, to the buyers; in many cases, we continue to be exposed to liabilities under such arrangements if the buyers do not timely pay the obligations.

Furthermore, our divestiture and other corporate development activities 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) from the announcement of the planned or potential transaction, and (3) the challenges associated with separating personnel and financial and other systems.

USPI and our hospital-based joint ventures depend on existing relationships with key health system partners. If we are unable to maintain synergistic relationships with these systems, or enter into new relationships, we may be unable to implement our business strategies successfully.

USPI and our hospital‐based joint ventures depend in part on the efforts, reputations and success of health system partners and the strength of our relationships with those systems. Our joint ventures could be adversely affected by any damage to those health systems’ reputations or to our relationships with them. In addition, damage to our business reputation could negatively impact the willingness of health systems to enter into relationships with us or USPI. If we are unable to maintain existing arrangements on favorable terms or enter into relationships with additional health system partners, we may be unable to implement our business strategies for our joint ventures successfully.

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Our joint venture arrangements are subject to a number of operational risks that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have invested in a number of joint ventures with other entities when circumstances warranted the use of these structures, and we may form additional joint ventures in the future. These joint ventures may not be profitable or may not achieve the profitability that justifies the investments made. Furthermore, the nature of a joint venture requires us to consult with and share certain decision‐making powers with unaffiliated third parties, some of which may be not‐for‐profit health systems. If our joint venture partners do not fulfill their obligations, the affected joint venture may not be able to operate according to its business or strategic plans. In that case, our results of operations could be adversely affected or we may be required to increase our level of financial commitment to the joint venture. Moreover, differences in economic or business interests or goals among joint venture participants could result in delayed decisions, failures to agree on major issues and even litigation. If these differences cause the joint ventures to deviate from their business or strategic plans, or if our joint venture partners take actions contrary to our policies, objectives or the best interests of the joint venture, our results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, our relationships with not‐for‐profit health systems and the joint venture agreements that govern these relationships are intended to be structured to comply with current revenue rulings published by the Internal Revenue Service, as well as case law relevant to joint ventures between for‐profit and not‐for‐profit healthcare entities. Material changes in these authorities could adversely affect our relationships with not‐for‐profit health systems and related joint venture arrangements.

Our participation in joint ventures is also subject to the risks that:

•We could experience an impasse on certain decisions because we do not have sole decision‐making authority, which could require us to expend additional resources on resolving such impasses or potential disputes.

•We may not be able to maintain good relationships with our joint venture partners (including health systems), which could limit our future growth potential and could have an adverse effect on our business strategies.

•Our joint venture partners could have investment or operational goals that are not consistent with our corporate‐wide objectives, including the timing, terms and strategies for investments or future growth opportunities.

•Our joint venture partners might become bankrupt, fail to fund their share of required capital contributions or fail to fulfill their other obligations as joint venture partners, which may require us to infuse our own capital into any such venture on behalf of the related joint venture partner or partners despite other competing uses for such capital.

•The requirements in many of our existing joint ventures that one of our wholly owned subsidiaries provide a working capital line of credit to the joint venture could necessitate the allocation of substantial financial resources to the joint venture, potentially impacting our ability to fund our other short‐term obligations.

•Provisions in some of our existing joint venture arrangements requiring mandatory capital expenditures for the benefit of the applicable joint venture could limit our ability to expend funds on other corporate opportunities.

•Our joint venture partners may have competing interests in our markets that could create conflict of interest issues, which could impact the sustainability of our relationships.

•Any sale or other disposition of our interest in a joint venture or underlying assets of the joint venture may require consents from our joint venture partners, which we may not be able to obtain.

•Certain corporate‐wide or strategic transactions may also trigger other contractual rights held by a joint venture partner (including termination or liquidation rights) depending on how the transaction is structured, which could impact our ability to complete such transactions.

•Put/call arrangements and other joint venture exit rights could require us to utilize our cash flow, incur additional indebtedness or issue stock to satisfy the payment obligations in respect of such arrangements.

•Our joint venture arrangements that involve financial and ownership relationships with physicians and others who either refer or influence the referral of patients to our hospitals or other healthcare facilities are subject to greater regulatory scrutiny from government enforcement agencies. While we endeavor to comply with the applicable safe harbors under the Anti‐kickback Statute, certain of our current arrangements, including joint venture arrangements, do not qualify for safe harbor protection.

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Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

Our level of indebtedness could, among other things, adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, and prevent us from meeting our obligations under the agreements relating to our indebtedness.

At December 31, 2023, we had approximately $15.002 billion of total long‐term debt, as well as $111 million in standby letters of credit outstanding in the aggregate under our senior secured revolving credit facility (as amended, “Credit Agreement”) and our letter of credit facility agreement (as amended, “LC Facility”). Our Credit Agreement is collateralized by eligible inventory and patient accounts receivable, including receivables for Medicaid supplemental payments, of substantially all of our wholly owned acute care and specialty hospitals, and our LC Facility is guaranteed and secured by a first priority pledge of the capital stock and other ownership interests of certain of our hospital subsidiaries on an equal‐ranking basis with our existing senior secured notes. From time to time, we expect to engage in additional capital market, bank credit and other financing activities, depending on our needs and financing alternatives available at that time.

The interest expense associated with our indebtedness offsets a substantial portion of our operating income. During 2023, our interest expense was $901 million and represented 36% of our $2.510 billion of operating income. As a result, relatively small percentage changes in our operating income can result in a relatively large percentage change in our net income and earnings per share, both positively and negatively. In addition:

•Our substantial indebtedness may limit our ability to adjust to changing market conditions and place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt.

•We may be more vulnerable in the event of a deterioration in our business, in the healthcare industry or in the economy generally, or if federal or state governments substantially limit or reduce reimbursement under the Medicare or Medicaid programs.

•Our debt service obligations reduce the amount of funds available for our operations, capital expenditures and corporate development activities, and may make it more difficult for us to satisfy our financial obligations.

•Our operations are capital intensive and require significant investment to maintain buildings, equipment, software and other assets. Our substantial indebtedness could limit our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future capital expenditures, as well as working capital, acquisitions or other needs.

•Our significant indebtedness may result in the market value of our stock being more volatile, potentially resulting in larger investment gains or losses for our shareholders, than the market value of the common stock of other companies that have a relatively smaller amount of indebtedness.

•A significant portion of our outstanding debt is subject to early prepayment penalties, such as make‐whole premiums; as a result, it may be costly to pursue debt repayment as a deleveraging strategy.

Furthermore, our Credit Agreement, our LC Facility and the indentures governing our outstanding notes contain, and any future debt obligations may contain, covenants that, among other things, restrict our ability to pay dividends, incur additional debt and sell assets.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness, and we may not be able to refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms. If we are forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, these actions may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our indebtedness depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to financial, business and other factors that may be beyond our control. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness.

In addition, our ability to meet our debt service obligations is dependent upon the operating results of our subsidiaries and their ability to pay dividends or make other payments or advances to us. We hold most of our assets at, and conduct substantially all of our operations through, direct and indirect subsidiaries. Moreover, we rely on dividends or other intercompany transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our debt service and other obligations, including payment on our outstanding debt. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments or advances to us will depend on their operating results and will be subject to applicable laws and restrictions contained in agreements governing the debt of such subsidiaries. Subsidiaries that are not wholly owned may also be subject to restrictions on their ability to distribute cash to us in their financing or other agreements and, as a result, we may not be able to access their cash flows to service their respective debt obligations.

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In recent years, we have regularly issued new notes to refinance our outstanding notes prior to their maturity, and we are likely to continue this practice in the future. Current capital market conditions, including the impact of inflation, have increased borrowing rates and can be expected to significantly increase our cost of capital as compared to prior periods should we seek additional funding. Moreover, global capital markets have experienced significant volatility and uncertainty in the past, and there can be no assurance that such financing alternatives will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all, should we determine it necessary or advisable to seek additional capital. In addition, our ability to incur secured indebtedness (which would generally enable us to achieve better pricing than the incurrence of unsecured indebtedness) depends in part on the value of our assets, which depends, in turn, on the strength of our cash flows and results of operations, as well as on economic and market conditions and other factors.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations and we are unable to refinance our indebtedness on acceptable terms, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, including those required for physical plant maintenance or operation of our existing facilities, for integrating our historical acquisitions or for future corporate development activities, and such reduction or delay could continue for years. We also may be forced to sell assets or operations, seek additional capital, or restructure our indebtedness. We cannot assure you that we would be able to take any of these actions, that these actions would be successful and permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations, or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our existing or future debt agreements, including our Credit Agreement, our LC Facility and the indentures governing our outstanding notes.

Restrictive covenants in the agreements governing our indebtedness may adversely affect us.

Our Credit Agreement, our LC Facility and the indentures governing our outstanding notes contain various covenants that, among other things, limit our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to:

•incur, assume or guarantee additional indebtedness;

•incur liens;

•make certain investments;

•provide subsidiary guarantees;

•consummate asset sales;

•redeem debt that is subordinated in right of payment to outstanding indebtedness;

•enter into sale and lease‐back transactions;

•enter into transactions with affiliates; and

•consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets.

These restrictions are subject to a number of important exceptions and qualifications. In addition, under certain circumstances, the terms of our Credit Agreement require us to maintain a financial ratio relating to our ability to satisfy certain fixed expenses, including interest payments. Our ability to meet this financial ratio and the aforementioned restrictive covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, and there can be no assurance that we will meet those tests. These restrictions could limit our ability to obtain future financing, make acquisitions or needed capital expenditures, withstand economic downturns in our business or the economy in general, conduct operations or otherwise take advantage of business opportunities that may arise. In addition, a breach of any of these covenants could cause an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could require us to repay the indebtedness immediately. Under these conditions, we are not certain whether we would have, or be able to obtain, sufficient funds to make accelerated payments.

Despite current indebtedness levels, we have the ability and may decide to incur substantially more debt or otherwise increase our leverage. This could further intensify the risks described above.

We have the ability to incur additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in our Credit Agreement, our 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.

Our Credit Agreement provides for revolving loans in an aggregate principal amount of up to $1.500 billion, with a $200 million subfacility for standby letters of credit. Our LC Facility provides for the issuance of standby and documentary letters of credit in an aggregate principal amount of up to $200 million. At December 31, 2023, we had no cash borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement, and we had $111 million of standby letters of credit outstanding in the aggregate under the Credit Agreement and the LC Facility. Based on our eligible receivables, $1.500 billion was available for borrowing

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under the Credit Agreement at December 31, 2023. If new indebtedness is added or our leverage increases, the related risks that we now face could intensify.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY

RISK MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGY

We identify and assess areas of risk for our company on an ongoing basis, and we have developed, and regularly refine, comprehensive practices to manage and mitigate existing and potential risks to our business. Our board of directors oversees enterprise risk management as an integral and continuous part of its oversight role. Integrated into our overall enterprise risk management framework are processes dedicated to the identification, assessment and management of material risks from cybersecurity threats. Our approach to cybersecurity risk management is both proactive and defensive, and includes the following elements:

•a team dedicated solely to cybersecurity and managed by our chief information security officer (“CISO”), who reports directly to our chief information officer (“CIO”);

•an information technology request review process that includes cybersecurity assessments of third-party products and systems proposed to connect to our information systems environment or access our data; and

•a cybersecurity incident response plan.

Cybersecurity Team and Strategy—Our cybersecurity team, which includes both our employees and those of our managed services provider, is comprised of subgroups focused on distinct functional areas of responsibility. The team maintains a Security Operations Center, staffed 24 hours a day, that delivers day-to-day execution support for our cybersecurity risk management program.

We leverage a multi-layered strategy that is designed to assess, identify, manage and mitigate risks to our systems and data from cybersecurity threats. Proactively, we have implemented numerous threat‐management tools and processes. In addition, we have disaster recovery and business continuity plans that are tested and updated periodically. We strive to stay abreast of cybersecurity threats through integrated threat intelligence feeds, industry and federal threat notices, and participation in healthcare industry intelligence sharing. We also conduct table-top exercises, which serve to simulate cybersecurity incidents to practice response and identify gaps, on a regular basis. Our internal audit team performs random sampling audits of security practices at our facilities, and we routinely perform security risk assessments.

THC US Equity

THC · 10-K · period ended 2023-12-31

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY

THC US Equity☆

THC · 10-K · period ended 2023-12-31

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY

THC US Equity