Commitments and Contigencies (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			49 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	7 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	22 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		27 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	5 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	May 31, 2012	Sep. 13, 2012 Wage and Hour Litigation [Member] Illinois [Member] Employee	Jul. 25, 2012 Wage and Hour Litigation [Member] Connecticut [Member] Employee	Jun. 24, 2013 Federal Derivative Actions [Member]	Nov. 05, 2013 ERISA Class Action Lawsuit [Member]	Dec. 31, 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	Dec. 31, 2013 Home Health [Member] OIG Self-Disclosure [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Hospice [Member]	Mar. 31, 2010 Hospice [Member] South Carolina [Member] Beneficiary	Jul. 31, 2008 Hospice [Member] Massachusetts [Member] Beneficiary Claims	Jun. 06, 2011 Hospice [Member] Extrapolated [Member] South Carolina [Member] Beneficiary	Feb. 15, 2012 Hospice [Member] Extrapolated [Member] Massachusetts [Member] Claims	Dec. 17, 2012 Hospice [Member] Final Litigation Settlment [Member] Massachusetts [Member] Claims	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				112		89	35
Recovery amount of the overpayment made to the subsidiary											5,600,000								6,100,000	6,600,000	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	25	16
Loss Contingency, Settlement Agreement, Consideration							445,000	1,200,000															2,000,000
U.S. Department Of Justice Settlement	150,000,000	0	0						0							0
Payment Upon Execution Of U.S. Department Of Justice Settlement	115,000,000
Interest Rate On U.S. Department of Justice Settlement	2.25%
Final Payment Of U.S. Department Of Justice Settlement	35,000,000
Period Of Time For Final Payment Of U.S. Department of Justice Settlement	6 months
Accrued Charge Related To U.S. Department Of Justice Settlement	150,000,000	0
Loss Contingency Accrual															$ 500,000							$ 1,000,000	$ 2,000,000