Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Share-Based Compensation (Details)	Dec. 31, 2019 item
Restricted Stock Units
Share-Based Compensation
Number of shares of common stock entitled for each unit upon vesting	1

The number of shares of common stock entitled to receive for each unit upon vesting.

No definition available.

Name:	uthr_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardNumberOfSharesEntitledToReceiveForEachUnitUponVesting
Namespace Prefix:	uthr_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant