| **Business Combinations (Tables)**                                          | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
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| **Business Combinations [Abstract]**                                        |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| Schedule of Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed at the Acquisition Date | The fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition dates for the Fairlawn and Quillen transactions completed in 2014 were as follows (in millions):Total current assets$12.1Property and equipment, net36.9Identifiable intangible assets: Noncompete agreements (useful lives of 2 to 3 years)0.4Trade names (useful lives of 20 years)2.9Certificates of need (useful lives of 20 years)10.8Licenses (useful lives of 20 years)2.1Goodwill34.6Total assets acquired99.8Total current liabilities assumed(7.8)Total long-term liabilities assumed(13.4)Net assets acquired$78.6The preliminary fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date were as follows (in millions):Cash and cash equivalents$20.9Accounts receivable, net37.6Prepaid expenses and other current assets8.6Property and equipment, net9.6Identifiable intangible assets: Noncompete agreements (useful life of 2 to 5 years)5.6Trade name (indefinite life)135.2Licenses (useful life of 10 years)58.2Internal-use software (useful life of 3 years)3.2Goodwill592.5Other long-term assets2.1Total assets acquired873.5Current portion of long-term debt2.0Accounts payable0.9Accrued payroll25.8Other current liabilities18.5Long-term debt, net of current portion2.0Deferred tax liabilities64.3Total liabilities assumed113.5Redeemable noncontrolling interests64.5Net assets acquired$695.5 |
| Schedule of Noncash or Part Noncash Acquisitions                            | Information regarding the net cash paid for the acquisition of Encompass is as follows (in millions):Fair value of assets acquired, net of $20.9 million of cash acquired$260.1Goodwill592.5Fair value of liabilities assumed(113.5)Redeemable noncontrolling interests(64.5)Net cash paid for acquisition$674.6Information regarding the net cash paid for all other acquisitions during each period presented is as follows (in millions): For the Year Ended December 31, 2014 2013 2012Fair value of assets acquired, net of $5.1 million of cash acquired in 2014$60.1 $15.6 $3.1Goodwill34.6 13.7 —Fair value of liabilities assumed(21.2) (0.4) —Fair value of noncontrolling interest owned by joint venture partner(18.3) — —Fair value of equity interest prior to acquisition(35.0) — —Net cash paid for acquisitions$20.2 $28.9 $3.1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| Summary of Actual and Pro Forma Results of Operations for Acquisitions      | The following table summarizes the results of operations of the above mentioned transactions from their respective dates of acquisition included in our consolidated results of operations and the unaudited pro forma results of operations of the combined entity had the date of the acquisitions been January 1, 2013 (in millions): Net OperatingRevenues Net IncomeAttributable toHealthSouthAcquired entities only: Actual from acquisition date to December 31, 2014*$27.2 $4.0Combined entity: Supplemental pro forma from 1/01/2014-12/31/2014 (unaudited)2,799.8 237.5Combined entity: Supplemental pro forma from 1/01/2013-12/31/2013 (unaudited)2,627.6 311.3* Encompass - Actual amounts are zero due to the acquisition of Encompass on December 31, 2014.Fairlawn - includes operating results from June 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014Quillen - includes operating results from November 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |

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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of pro forma results of operations for a material business acquisition or series of individually immaterial business acquisitions that are material in the aggregate.
+ References
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of acquisition of assets or a business through noncash (or part noncash) transactions. Noncash is defined as information about all investing and financing activities of an enterprise during a period that affect recognized assets or liabilities but that do not result in cash receipts or cash payments in the period. "Part noncash" refers to that portion of the transaction not resulting in cash receipts or cash payments in the period. Disclosure may include the equity interest acquired, value of assets acquired, value of liabilities acquired, net monetary assets acquired, number of shares, warrants or options issued as consideration for a business or asset acquired and other information necessary to a fair presentation.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6367179&loc=d3e4332-108586Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6367179&loc=d3e4313-108586Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6367179&loc=d3e4304-108586
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the amounts recognized as of the acquisition date for each major class of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. May include but not limited to the following: (a) acquired receivables; (b) contingencies recognized at the acquisition date; and (c) the fair value of noncontrolling interests in the acquiree.
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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=39739317&loc=d3e4845-128472
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