| **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, 2014 2013 2012Current:     Federal$2.5 $0.9 $0.7State and other10.8 5.4 5.2Total current expense13.3 6.3 5.9Deferred:     Federal95.3 11.3 104.2State and other2.1 (4.9) (1.5)Total deferred expense97.4 6.4 102.7Total income tax expense related to continuing operations$110.7 $12.7 $108.6                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| 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, 2014 2013 2012Tax 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 benefit4.3 % 4.0 % 3.7 %Decrease in valuation allowance(1.9)% (2.3)% (2.8)%Settlement of tax claims— % (28.7)% 0.3 %Noncontrolling interests(5.1)% (5.1)% (5.1)%Acquisition of additional equity interest in Fairlawn(3.6)% — % — %Other, net(0.1)% 0.3 % 0.8 %Income tax expense28.6 % 3.2 % 31.9 %                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| 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, 2014 2013Deferred income tax assets:   Net operating loss$301.3 $416.5Property, net40.7 44.3Insurance reserve25.6 28.5Stock-based compensation23.7 26.8Allowance for doubtful accounts18.0 15.3Alternative minimum tax10.5 11.1Carrying value of partnerships23.8 19.8Other accruals20.6 19.0Tax credits9.9 2.0Other1.6 1.2Total deferred income tax assets475.7 584.5Less: Valuation allowance(23.0) (30.7)Net deferred income tax assets452.7 553.8Deferred income tax liabilities:   Intangibles(97.5) (29.2)Convertible debt interest(31.7) (28.0)Other(5.7) (3.3)Total deferred income tax liabilities(134.9) (60.5)Net deferred income tax assets317.8 493.3Less: Current deferred tax assets188.4 139.0Noncurrent deferred tax assets$129.4 $354.3                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| 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, 2012$6.0 $0.1Gross amount of increases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods75.8 —Gross amount of decreases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods(2.5) —Decreases in unrecognized tax benefits relating to settlements with taxing authorities(0.9) —Reductions to unrecognized tax benefits as a result of a lapse of the applicable statute of limitations(0.4) (0.1)December 31, 201278.0 —Gross amount of increases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods46.7 0.3Gross amount of decreases in unrecognized tax benefits related to prior periods(1.9) —Decreases in unrecognized tax benefits relating to settlements with taxing authorities(121.7) —December 31, 20131.1 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, 2014$0.9 $— |

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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.
+ References
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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 of 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 (i.e., uncertain tax positions) and other types of income tax contingencies, including: (1) the policy on classification of interest and penalties; (2) a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits at the beginning and end of the period; the total amount(s) of: (3) unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate, and (4) interest and penalties recognized in each of the income statement and balance sheet; (5) for positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts unrecognized will significantly change within 12 months of the reporting date the: (i) nature of the uncertainty, (ii) nature of the event that could occur that would cause the change, and (iii) an estimate of the range of the reasonably possible change or a statement that an estimate of the range cannot be made; and (6) a description of tax years that remain subject to examination by major tax jurisdictions.
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