Bridge Term Credit Facility Agreement, Maximum Borrowing Amount

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of capital lease obligation due within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 840
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6455398&loc=d3e45280-112737

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.20)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 840
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6455314&loc=d3e45023-112735

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Section 02
-Paragraph 19
-Article 5

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- Definition

Amount of short-term debt and current maturity of long-term debt and capital lease obligations due within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19,20)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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- Definition

Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22(a)(1))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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- Definition

Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of Notes with the highest claim on the assets of the issuer in case of bankruptcy or liquidation (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle if longer), excluding current portion. Senior note holders are paid off in full before any payments are made to junior note holders.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis=lh_A60DayDebtBridgeTrauncheDomain
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DEBT (Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt) (Table) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Jan. 30, 2015	Dec. 19, 2014
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Senior Notes, Noncurrent			$ 2,900.0
Capital Lease Obligations, Current	$ 6.2	$ 5.4
Total short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt	425.4	423.9
Senior notes due 2020 [Member]
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Senior Notes, Noncurrent	$ 500.0	500.0	$ 500.0
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	4.625%		2.625%
Senior notes due 2022 [Member]
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Senior Notes, Noncurrent	$ 500.0	$ 500.0	$ 500.0
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage			3.20%
Senior notes due 2025 [Member]
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Senior Notes, Noncurrent			$ 1,000.0
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage			3.60%
Senior notes due 2045 [Member]
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Senior Notes, Noncurrent			$ 900.0
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage			4.70%
60-Day Debt Bridge Traunche [Domain]
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Bridge Term Credit Facility Agreement, Maximum Borrowing Amount				$ 400.0