| **Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock**            | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 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| **Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock [Abstract]** |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     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| Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock                | Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock:On March 7, 2006, we completed the sale of 400,000 shares of our 6.50% Series A Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock. The preferred stock has a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share of preferred stock, which is contingently subject to accretion. Holders of the preferred stock are entitled to receive, when and if declared by our board of directors, cash dividends at the rate of 6.50% per annum on the accreted liquidation preference per share, payable quarterly in arrears. Dividends on the preferred stock are cumulative. Each holder of preferred stock has one vote for each share held by the holder on all matters voted upon by the holders of our common stock.The preferred stock is convertible, at the option of the holder, at any time into shares of our common stock. We may at any time cause the shares of preferred stock to be automatically converted into shares of our common stock at the conversion rate then in effect if the closing sale price of our common stock for 20 trading days within a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the trading day before the date we give the notice of forced conversion exceeds 150% of the conversion price of the preferred stock. If we are subject to a fundamental change, as defined in the certificate of designation of the preferred stock, each holder of shares of preferred stock has the right, subject to certain limitations, to require us to purchase with cash any or all of its shares of preferred stock at a purchase price equal to 100% of the accreted liquidation preference, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends to the date of purchase. In addition, if holders of the preferred stock elect to convert shares of preferred stock in connection with certain fundamental changes, we will in certain circumstances increase the conversion rate for such shares of preferred stock. As redemption of the preferred stock is contingent upon the occurrence of a fundamental change, and since we do not deem a fundamental change probable of occurring, accretion of our Convertible perpetual preferred stock is not necessary.The agreement underlying the preferred stock includes antidilutive protection that requires adjustments to the number of shares of common stock issuable upon conversion and the exercise price for common stock upon the occurrence of certain events, including payment of cash dividends on our common stock after a de minimis threshold. At issuance, the preferred stock had a conversion price of $30.50 per share, which was equal to an initial conversion rate of 32.7869 shares of common stock per share of preferred stock. The payment of dividends on our common stock has triggered and will continue to trigger, from time to time, the antidilutive adjustment provisions of the preferred stock, except when such adjustments are deemed de minimis. The current conversion price of the preferred stock is $29.70, and the current conversion rate is 33.6700 for each preferred share.During the year ended December 31, 2012, we repurchased 46,645 shares of our preferred stock for total cash consideration of $46.5 million, including fees. In the fourth quarter of 2013, we exchanged $320.0 million in aggregate principal amount of newly issued 2.00% Convertible Senior Subordinated Notes due 2043 for 257,110 shares of our outstanding preferred stock. No common stock was issued as part of these exchange transactions. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, 96,245 shares of our preferred stock remained outstanding. See Note 8,Long-term Debt.The following is a summary of the activity related to our Convertible perpetual preferred stock from December 31, 2011 to December 31, 2014 (in millions, except share data): Number of Shares Outstanding AmountBalance as of December 31, 2011400,000 $387.4Repurchase of preferred stock(46,645) (45.2)Balance as of December 31, 2012353,355 342.2Repurchase of preferred stock(257,110) (249.0)Balance as of December 31, 2013 and 201496,245 93.2The allocation of the consideration exchanged for repurchases of preferred stock is as follows (in millions): For the Year Ended December 31, 2013 2012Carrying value of shares repurchased$249.0 $45.2Cumulative dividends included as part of repurchase price2.2 0.5Excess exchanged in transaction71.6 0.8 $322.8 $46.5For 2013, the difference between the fair value of the consideration paid to the holders of the preferred stock, or $322.8 million (including fees), and the carrying value of the preferred stock in our balance sheet, or $249.0 million, resulted in a charge of $73.8 million to Capital in excess of par value that was treated like a dividend and subtracted from Net income to arrive at Net income attributable to HealthSouth common shareholders in our consolidated statement of operations. Of this amount, $2.2 million represents cumulative dividends through the date of the repurchase transactions.For 2012, the difference between the fair value of the consideration paid to the holders of the preferred stock, or $46.5 million (including fees), and the carrying value of the preferred stock in our balance sheet, or $45.2 million, resulted in a charge of $1.3 million to Capital in excess of par value that was treated like a dividend and subtracted from Net income to arrive at Net income attributable to HealthSouth common shareholders in our consolidated statement of operations. Of this amount, $0.5 million represents cumulative dividends through the date of the repurchase transactions.We declared $6.3 million, $21.0 million, and $23.9 million in dividends on our preferred stock in the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, accrued dividends of $1.6 million were included in Other current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. These accrued dividends were paid in January 2015 and 2014, respectively. |

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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for terms, amounts, nature of changes, rights and privileges, dividends, and other matters related to preferred stock.
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No definition available.
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