Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Apr. 24, 2019
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	UNITED THERAPEUTICS Corp
Entity Central Index Key	0001082554
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2019
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		43,810,915
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1