Commitments and Contigencies (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			4 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		10 Months Ended	49 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	7 Months Ended	10 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	22 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	27 Months Ended	5 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	May 02, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Oct. 23, 2014	May 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 13, 2012 Wage and Hour Litigation [Member] Illinois [Member] Employee	Jul. 25, 2012 Wage and Hour Litigation [Member] Connecticut [Member] Employee	Nov. 05, 2013 ERISA Class Action Lawsuit [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Home Health [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Home Health [Member]	Nov. 10, 2009 Home Health [Member] Ohio [Member] Claims	Mar. 09, 2011 Home Health [Member] Extrapolated [Member] Ohio [Member] Claims	Jan. 31, 2014 Home Health [Member] Unfavorable [Member] Ohio [Member] Claims	Jan. 31, 2014 Home Health [Member] Favorable In Full [Member] Ohio [Member] Claims	Jan. 31, 2014 Home Health [Member] Favorable In Part [Member] Ohio [Member] Claims	Jun. 30, 2014 Home Health [Member] OIG Self-Disclosure [Member]	Sep. 09, 2014 Home Health [Member] OIG Self-Disclosure [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Hospice [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Hospice [Member]	Mar. 31, 2010 Hospice [Member] South Carolina [Member] Beneficiary	Jun. 06, 2011 Hospice [Member] Extrapolated [Member] South Carolina [Member] Beneficiary	Mar. 12, 2014 Hospice [Member] OIG Self-Disclosure [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Hospice [Member] OIG Self-Disclosure [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Hospice [Member] OIG Self-Disclosure [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Medicare Revenue								$ 4,000,000
Number of former employees who filled a putative collective and class action complaint										1	3
Number of claims submitted by subsidiary															137	114	28	76	10
Recovery amount of the overpayment made to the subsidiary																5,600,000									6,100,000
Number of claims appealed																		74	8
Health insurance retention limit					900,000
Workers' compensation insurance retention limit					500,000
Professional liability insurance retention limit					300,000
Number of beneficiaries																								30	16
Loss Contingency, Settlement Agreement, Consideration												1,200,000									2,100,000					2,000,000
U.S. Department Of Justice Settlement	0		150,000,000		0	150,000,000							0	0								0	0
Payment Upon Execution Of U.S. Department Of Justice Settlement				116,500,000	115,000,000
Final Payment Of U.S. Department Of Justice Settlement					35,000,000		35,800,000
Accrued Charge Related To U.S. Department Of Justice Settlement	35,000,000				35,000,000				150,000,000
Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss																												2,000,000
Loss Contingency Accrual																				1,900,000							1,000,000
Relators' Attorneys' Fees For U.S. Department of Justice Settlement		$ 3,900,000
Corporate Integrity Agreement Term					5 years