BUSINESS COMBINATIONS - Narrative (Details)				1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2015 USD ($) product $ / shares	Feb. 23, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 23, 2014 USD ($)	May. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015	Feb. 10, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 07, 2014 USD ($)	Jan. 24, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition-related contingent consideration					$ 161,600,000		$ 161,600,000	$ 161,600,000		$ 141,800,000
Purchase price net of cash received					115,800,000	$ 606,800,000		14,001,700,000	$ 981,100,000
Acquisition of businesses, contingent and deferred consideration obligations at fair value					108,700,000	16,000,000		783,300,000	65,100,000
Acquisition-related costs					7,000,000	1,600,000		26,300,000	3,700,000
Pro forma acquisition accounting adjustment on inventory sold subsequent to acquisition date					25,000,000	7,000,000		94,000,000	$ 15,000,000
1.5% Convertible Notes Due March 2019 | Convertible Debt
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stated interest rate on debt (as a percent)	1.50%										1.50%
Estimated fair value of warrant transactions	$ 1,080,000,000
2.75% Convertible Notes Due May 2015 | Convertible Debt
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stated interest rate on debt (as a percent)	2.75%										2.75%
Salix
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of products in product portfolio (more than) | product	20
Par value per share of common stock (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 0.001
Per share consideration (in usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 173.00
Inventory adjustments	$ 108,000,000
Estimated fair value of derivatives	1,270,000,000
Estimated insurance recoveries	$ 80,000,000
Weighted- average useful lives (Years)	11 years
Accrual for potential losses and legal costs	$ 336,000,000
Accrual for returns and rebates	374,000,000
Range of potential milestone payments, low	0
Range of potential milestone payment, high	650,000,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Contingent Liability					373,200,000		373,200,000	373,200,000
Acquisition related contingent consideration, current	11,000,000
Deferred tax assets	288,000,000
Deferred tax liabilities	3,710,000,000
Aggregate purchase price					13,132,000,000		13,132,000,000	13,132,000,000
Current liabilities					1,905,000,000		1,905,000,000	1,905,000,000
Acquisition-related costs							11,000,000	11,000,000
Revenues of acquiree since acquisition date								777,000,000
Net earnings (loss), net of tax of acquiree since acquisition date								$ (281,000,000)
Salix | Xifaxan
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
IPR&D asset fair value	$ 4,790,000,000
Salix | 1.5% Convertible Notes Due March 2019 | Convertible Debt
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stated interest rate on debt (as a percent)	1.50%
Salix | 2.75% Convertible Notes Due May 2015 | Convertible Debt
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stated interest rate on debt (as a percent)	2.75%
Other 2015 Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Weighted- average useful lives (Years)								8 years
Accounts receivable					38,300,000		38,300,000	$ 38,300,000
Accounts Receivable, Gross					39,000,000		39,000,000	39,000,000
Aggregate purchase price					1,227,000,000		1,227,000,000	1,227,000,000
Acquisition of businesses, contingent and deferred consideration obligations at fair value								176,000,000
Current liabilities					117,000,000		117,000,000	117,000,000
Non-current liabilities					117,400,000		117,400,000	117,400,000
Acquisition-related costs								9,000,000
Revenues of acquiree since acquisition date								540,000,000
Net earnings (loss), net of tax of acquiree since acquisition date								141,000,000
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivable					1,000,000		1,000,000	1,000,000
Dendreon
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price net of cash received		$ 415,000,000
Acquisition of noncontrolling interest		495,000,000
Cash received from Acquisition		80,000,000
Stock consideration transferred		$ 50,000,000
Marathon
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Range of potential milestone payment, high												$ 200,000,000
Acquisition-related contingent consideration					22,000,000		22,000,000	$ 22,000,000
Aggregate purchase price												286,000,000
Assumed liability owed to a third party												64,000,000
Current liabilities												41,000,000
Non-current liabilities												$ 46,000,000
2014 Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Weighted- average useful lives (Years)								10 years
Accounts receivable					81,800,000		81,800,000	$ 81,800,000
Acquisition of businesses, contingent and deferred consideration obligations at fair value										$ 133,000,000
Current liabilities					168,900,000		168,900,000	168,900,000
Total fair value of consideration transferred					$ 1,427,000,000		$ 1,427,000,000	$ 1,427,000,000
PreCision Dermatology, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition-related contingent consideration													$ 25,000,000
Aggregate purchase price													$ 459,000,000
PreCision Dermatology, Inc. | Other (Income) Expense
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Post-combination expense						$ 20,000,000
Solta Medical, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Per share consideration (in usd per share) | $ / shares														$ 2.92
Aggregate purchase price														$ 293,000,000
Repayments of long-term debt			$ 44,000,000
Philidor
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Net revenue of acquiree as percentage of total consolidated amount					7.00%			6.00%
Restricted Stock | Salix
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Per share consideration (in usd per share) | $ / shares	$ 173.00
Development and Sales Based Milestones | Salix
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Range of potential milestone payment, high	$ 250,000,000
Maximum | Philidor
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total assets of acquiree as percentage of total consolidated amount (less than 1%)					1.00%		1.00%	1.00%
Acquired IPR&D | Salix
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Weighted- average useful lives (Years)				10 years
Acquired IPR&D | Maximum | Salix
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Fair value discount rate								10.00%
Acquired IPR&D | Minimum | Salix
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Fair value discount rate								11.00%