Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net service revenue	$ 158,926	$ 153,398	$ 475,742	$ 476,196
Cost of service revenue	91,234	87,815	273,311	262,987
Gross margin	67,692	65,583	202,431	213,209
Provision for bad debts	2,987	3,199	8,395	8,903
General and administrative expenses	52,464	52,656	154,313	159,851
Other intangibles impairment charge	650		650
Settlement with government agencies		65,000		65,000
Operating income (loss)	11,591	(55,272)	39,073	(20,545)
Interest expense	(405)	(217)	(972)	(507)
Non-operating income	94	1,396	108	1,573
Income (loss) before income taxes and noncontrolling interest	11,280	(54,093)	38,209	(19,479)
Income tax expense (benefit)	3,388	(18,130)	12,706	(6,420)
Net income (loss)	7,892	(35,963)	25,503	(13,059)
Less net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	1,556	1,997	5,463	7,419
Net income (loss) available to LHC Group, Inc.'s common stockholders	$ 6,336	$ (37,960)	$ 20,040	$ (20,478)
Earnings per share - basic:
Net income (loss) available to LHC Group, Inc.'s common stockholders	$ 0.36	$ (2.08)	$ 1.11	$ (1.12)
Earnings per share - diluted:
Net income (loss) available to LHC Group, Inc.'s common stockholders	$ 0.36	$ (2.08)	$ 1.10	$ (1.12)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic	17,656,842	18,263,237	18,121,217	18,251,648
Diluted	17,726,819	18,263,237	18,160,489	18,251,648