| **Income Taxes (Tables)**                                     | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
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| **Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]**                          |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)        | The significant components of the Provision for income tax expense related to continuing operations are as follows (in millions): For the Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 2014Current:     Federal$16.1 $2.6 $2.5State and other14.9 12.2 10.8Total current expense31.0 14.8 13.3Deferred:     Federal130.5 113.9 95.3State and other2.4 13.2 2.1Total deferred expense132.9 127.1 97.4Total income tax expense related to continuing operations$163.9 $141.9 $110.7                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation          | A reconciliation of differences between the federal income tax at statutory rates and our actual income tax expense on our income from continuing operations, which include federal, state, and other income taxes, is presented below: For the Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 2014Tax expense at statutory rate35.0 % 35.0 % 35.0 %Increase (decrease) in tax rate resulting from:     State and other income taxes, net of federal tax benefit3.8 % 3.6 % 4.3 %Increase (decrease) in valuation allowance0.1 % 1.2 % (1.9)%Noncontrolling interests(4.4)% (5.3)% (5.1)%Acquisition of additional equity interest in Fairlawn— % — % (3.6)%Other, net(0.5)% 1.4 % (0.1)%Income tax expense34.0 % 35.9 % 28.6 %                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| Schedule of Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities | The significant components of HealthSouth’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are presented in the following table (in millions): As of December 31, 2016 2015Deferred income tax assets:   Net operating loss$64.8 $161.1Property, net52.1 48.2Insurance reserve32.0 26.0Stock-based compensation23.7 23.4Allowance for doubtful accounts19.3 24.5Alternative minimum tax7.5 10.6Carrying value of partnerships12.9 22.1Other accruals26.1 25.7Tax credits2.6 14.0Noncontrolling interest14.8 10.6Other0.8 0.8Total deferred income tax assets256.6 367.0Less: Valuation allowance(27.9) (27.6)Net deferred income tax assets228.7 339.4Deferred income tax liabilities:   Intangibles(113.2) (112.8)Convertible debt interest(38.1) (35.3)Other(1.6) (0.5)Total deferred income tax liabilities(152.9) (148.6)Net deferred income tax assets75.8 190.8                                                                                                                                          |
| Schedule of Unrecognized Tax Benefits Rollforward             | A reconciliation of the beginning and ending liability for unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in millions): Gross Unrecognized Income Tax Benefits Accrued Interest and PenaltiesJanuary 1, 2014$1.1 $0.3Gross amount of increases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods0.7 0.1Gross amount of decreases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods(0.9) (0.4)December 31, 20140.9 —Gross amount of increases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods1.7 —Gross amount of increases in unrecognized tax benefits related to current period0.3 —December 31, 20152.9 —Gross amount of increases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods0.3 —Gross amount of decreases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods (0.4) —Gross amount of increases in unrecognized tax benefits related to current period0.1 —Gross amount of decreases in unrecognized tax benefits related to current periods (0.1) —December 31, 2016$2.8 $— |

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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the components of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for each year presented including, but not limited to: current tax expense (benefit), deferred tax expense (benefit), investment tax credits, government grants, the benefits of operating loss carryforwards, tax expense that results from allocating certain tax benefits either directly to contributed capital or to reduce goodwill or other noncurrent intangible assets of an acquired entity, adjustments of a deferred tax liability or asset for enacted changes in tax laws or rates or a change in the tax status of the entity, and adjustments of the beginning-of-the-year balances of a valuation allowance because of a change in circumstances that causes a change in judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax asset in future years.
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the components of net deferred tax asset or liability recognized in an entity's statement of financial position, including the following: the total of all deferred tax liabilities, the total of all deferred tax assets, the total valuation allowance recognized for deferred tax assets.
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the reconciliation using percentage or dollar amounts of the reported amount of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for the year to the amount of income tax expense that would result from applying domestic federal statutory tax rates to pretax income from continuing operations.
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure for tax positions taken in the tax returns filed or to be filed for which it is more likely than not that the tax position will not be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities and other income tax contingencies. Includes, but is not limited to, interest and penalties, reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits, unrecognized tax benefits that would affect the effective tax rate, tax years that remain subject to examination by tax jurisdictions, and information about positions for which it is reasonably possible that amounts unrecognized will significantly change within 12 months.
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