Ownership Submission
FORM 4
Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
PORTACCI MICHAEL T
   2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS INC [CYH] 		5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
Division President
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
4000 MERIDIAN BOULEVARD		 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
03/01/2017
(Street)

FRANKLIN, TN 37067		 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 3)		 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)		 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 3 and 4)		 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)		 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price
Common Stock 03/01/2017   A   20,000 (1) A $ 0 89,841 D  
Common Stock 03/01/2017   M   35,000 A $ 0 124,841 D  
Common Stock 03/01/2017   F   14,685 D $ 9.19 110,156 D  

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)		 2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)		 5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)		 6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)		 8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)		 9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)		 10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)		 11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Performance Based Restricted $ 0 03/01/2017   M(2)     35,000 03/01/2017 02/28/2026 Common Stock 35,000 $ 0 0 D  
Performance Based Restricted $ 0 03/01/2017   A   20,000   03/01/2020(3) 02/28/2027 Common Stock 20,000 $ 0 20,000 D  
Stock Options (Right to Buy) $ 28.7             02/27/2009 02/26/2018 Common Stock 20,000   20,000 D  
Stock Options (Right to Buy) $ 30.32             02/24/2011 02/23/2020 Common Stock 10,000   10,000 D  
Stock Options (Right to Buy) $ 34.38             02/23/2012 02/22/2021 Common Stock 10,000   10,000 D  
Stock Options (Right to Buy) $ 17.49             02/16/2013 02/15/2022 Common Stock 2,667   2,667 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
 Director  10% Owner  Officer  Other
PORTACCI MICHAEL T
4000 MERIDIAN BOULEVARD
FRANKLIN, TN 37067		       Division President  

Signatures

 Christopher G. Cobb, Attorney in Fact for Michael T. Portacci   03/02/2017
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) The time-vesting restrictions on this award of restricted stock will lapse in 1/3 increments on the first, second and third anniversary of the date of grant.
(2) The performance objectives governing these shares of Performance Based Restricted Stock have been met, and, accordingly, these shares will now be reported in Table 1 as directly owned shares of Restricted Stock. The time-vesting restrictions lapse in 1/3 increments on the first, second and third anniversary of the date of grant.
(3) The vesting of 80% of these performance-based restricted shares is subject to the attainment of a pre-determined level of Cumulative Same-Store Adjusted EBITDA Growth between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019 (the "Performance Period"). The vesting of the remaining 20% of these performance-based restricted shares is subject to the attainment of a pre-determined level of Cumulative Adjusted EPS for the Performance Period. The target number (100%) of the total performance-based restricted shares is reported in the table set forth above. Between 0% and 200% of the target number of performance-based restricted shares subject to the attainment of the Cumulative Same-Store Adjusted EBITDA Growth and Cumulative Adjusted EPS criteria, as applicable, will ultimately vest on the third anniversary of the date of grant, with the vesting percentage to be determined based upon achievement with respect to the applicable criteria during the Performance Period.
 
Remarks:
NOTE:  The per share exercise price of each option listed on Table II granted prior to April 29, 2016, was adjusted pursuant to the Employee Matters Agreement between the Issuer and Quorum Health Corporation ("QHC"), dated as of April 29, 2016, to preserve the aggregate intrinsic value of the original award as a result of the spin-off from the Issuer of QHC, effective April 29, 2016.

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