Basis Of Presentation (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended			8 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) item	Jun. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) item	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Apr. 10, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2019 USD ($)
Standby letters of credit	$ 37,900				$ 37,900
Deferred employer payroll taxes					22,941
Revenue	528,297		$ 480,613		1,546,294	$ 1,416,231
Other operating (income)/expense	(12,207)		$ (78)		28,935	$ (9,001)
Lease right of use assets	120,382				120,382			$ 111,652
Lease liabilities	$ 132,552				$ 132,552			125,936
Weighted average rate	2.98%				2.98%
Number of cloud computing arrangements | item	2				2
Effective tax rate	17.00%		11.90%		17.80%	15.20%
Excess tax benefit on stock options reduced income tax expense	$ 7,200		$ 8,800		$ 19,900	$ 18,700
Capitalized property and equipment	979				979			$ 1,800
CARES Act [Member]
Deferred employer payroll taxes					22,900
Relief Fund	100,000,000				100,000,000
CARES Act - 2019 Medicare Fee-For-Service [Member]
Relief Fund	30,000,000				30,000,000
ASU 2016-02 [Member]
Lease right of use assets									$ 93,100
Lease liabilities									$ 104,300
Weighted average rate									3.47%
Cloud Computing [Member]
Capitalized contract cost	9,200				$ 9,200
VITAS [Member]
Number of COVID positive patients cared | item					3,500
Revenue	6,300				$ 10,500
VITAS [Member] | CARES Act - 2019 Medicare Fee-For-Service [Member]
Relief Fund							$ 80,200
VITAS [Member] | Forecast [Member]
Percentage of Medicare sequestration reimbursement				2.00%
VITAS [Member] | Cloud Computing [Member]
Capitalized contract cost, amortization expense	$ 282				$ 807
Capitalized contract cost, amortization period	5 years				5 years
Roto-Rooter [Member]
Expected credit losses from COVID-19					$ 1,052
Roto-Rooter [Member] | COVID-19 [Member]
Expected credit losses from COVID-19	$ 185				1,100
CARES Act Grant [Member]
Other operating (income)/expense	(8,805)				$ 32,184
CARES Act Grant [Member] | Incremental Medicare Cap [Member]
Other operating (income)/expense	(2,250)
CARES Act Grant [Member] | Incremental Medicare Cap [Member] | VITAS [Member]
Other operating (income)/expense	(2,300)	$ 2,300
CARES Act Grant [Member] | Lost Revenue [Member]
Other operating (income)/expense	(13,500)
CARES Act Grant [Member] | Lost Revenue [Member] | VITAS [Member]
Other operating (income)/expense	$ (13,500)	$ 13,500