Segments (Service Revenues And Sales And After- Tax Earnings By Business Segment) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service Revenues and Sales	$ 357,198	$ 354,170	$ 723,839	$ 707,113
After-tax Earnings	21,899	28,507	51,666	55,629
Net income	14,608	21,274	36,886	41,719
VITAS [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service Revenues and Sales	263,568	265,213	534,895	526,060
After-tax Earnings	20,485	20,433	40,628	40,060
Roto-Rooter [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Service Revenues and Sales	93,630	88,957	188,944	181,053
After-tax Earnings	1,414	8,074	11,038	15,569
Corporate Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
After-tax Earnings	$ (7,291)	$ (7,233)	$ (14,780)	$ (13,910)