Business Segments (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block]

20.  BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION

The following table is a summary of segment information for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014. The “management approach” has been used to present the following segment information. This approach is based upon the way the management of the Company organizes segments within an enterprise for making operating decisions and assessing performance. Financial information is reported on the basis that it is used internally by the chief operating decision maker (CODM) for evaluating segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources to segments. The Company’s chief executive officer has been identified as the CODM.

Prior to the first quarter of 2015, the CODM managed the operating results of the Company as two segments: commercial laboratory diagnostics and other. In connection with the Acquisition, the Company changed its operating segments to align with how the CODM evaluates financial information used to allocate resources and assess performance of the Company following the Acquisition. The segment information presented in these financial statements has been conformed to present segments on this revised basis for all prior periods. Under the new organizational structure, the CODM manages the Company under two segments: LCD and CDD. LCD includes the Company's legacy LabCorp business, and the Company's nutritional chemistry and food safety business, which was previously part of Covance, but excludes LabCorp’s legacy clinical trials testing business, which is now part of CDD. CDD includes Covance's legacy business, and LabCorp’s legacy clinical trials testing business, but excludes Covance's nutritional chemistry and food safety business, which is now part of LCD.

Segment asset information is not presented because it is not used by the CODM at the segment level. Operating earnings (loss) of each segment represents net revenues less directly identifiable expenses to arrive at operating income for the segment. General management and administrative corporate expenses are included in general corporate expenses below.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company refined its methodology for how it allocates corporate expenses between the segments, which impacted segment results and has been applied to prior periods for comparative purposes. 

	2016			2015			2014
Net revenues:
LCD	$	6,593.9		$	6,199.3		$	5,838.0
CDD	2,844.1			2,306.4			173.6
Intercompany eliminations	(0.8		)	—			—
Total net revenues	$	9,437.2		$	8,505.7		$	6,011.6
Operating earnings (loss):
LCD	$	1,187.6		$	1,053.7		$	976.2
CDD	272.7			73.5			40.7
General corporate expenses	(147.9		)	(130.4		)	(112.6		)
Total operating income	1,312.4			996.8			904.3
Non-operating expenses, net	(206.9		)	(270.8		)	(83.7		)
Earnings before income taxes	1,105.5			726.0			820.6
Provision for income taxes	372.3			287.3			308.0
Net earnings	733.2			438.7			512.6
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1.1		)	(1.1		)	(1.4		)
Net income attributable to Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings	$	732.1		$	437.6		$	511.2

	2016		2015		2014
Depreciation and amortization
LCD	$	270.9	$	245.8	$	184.8
CDD	219.5		184.4		5.3
General corporate	0.1		4.1		44.2
Total depreciation and amortization	$	490.5	$	434.3	$	234.3

	LCD		CDD		Intercompany Eliminations			Total
Geographic distribution of net revenues
US	$	6,246.1	$	1,395.2	$	(0.8	)	$	7,640.5
Canada	295.8		—		—			295.8
United Kingdom	41.8		234.1		—			275.9
Switzerland	—		450.5		—			450.5
Other	10.2		764.3		—			774.5
Total net revenues	$	6,593.9	$	2,844.1	$	(0.8	)	$	9,437.2

	LCD		CDD		Total
Geographic distribution of property, plant and equipment, net
U.S.	$	778.5	$	639.3	$	1,417.8
Canada	50.1		—		50.1
U.K.	2.4		105.5		107.9
Switzerland	—		81.4		81.4
Other	0.9		60.5		61.4
Total property, plant and equipment, net	$	831.9	$	886.7	$	1,718.6