Unaudited Summarized Quarterly Financial Information (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Net service revenue	$ 509,842	$ 507,043	$ 502,024	$ 291,054	$ 291,140	$ 269,678	$ 257,535	$ 244,249	$ 1,809,963	$ 1,062,602	$ 900,033
Gross margin	185,303	184,847	181,020	102,436	103,714	96,822	96,377	89,879	653,606	386,792	342,383
Net Income Attributable to LHC Group Inc.'s Common Stockholders	$ 20,552	$ 21,230	$ 16,797	$ 4,995	$ 18,435	$ 10,906	$ 11,304	$ 9,467	$ 63,574	$ 50,112	$ 36,583
Net income attributable to LHC Group' Inc.'s common stockholders
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.67	$ 0.69	$ 0.55	$ 0.28	$ 1.04	$ 0.61	$ 0.64	$ 0.54	$ 2.31	$ 2.83	$ 2.08
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.66	$ 0.68	$ 0.55	$ 0.28	$ 1.02	$ 0.61	$ 0.63	$ 0.53	$ 2.29	$ 2.79	$ 2.07
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	30,777,556	30,750,227	30,497,501	17,789,863	17,749,872	17,740,818	17,728,567	17,643,463	27,498,351	17,715,992	17,559,477
Diluted (in shares)	31,142,061	31,083,815	30,742,293	18,039,345	18,043,297	18,010,522	17,964,387	17,817,880	27,773,396	17,961,018	17,682,820