Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 44,615	$ 38,644	$ 131,555	$ 112,144
Cost of revenues	37,123	31,983	110,304	92,917
Gross profit	7,492	6,661	21,251	19,227
Operating expenses	4,675	4,330	13,908	12,502
Operating profit	2,817	2,331	7,343	6,725
Interest expense, net	253	261	816	562
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	101	0	643	0
Income before income tax provision	2,463	2,070	5,884	6,163
Income tax provision	921	833	2,271	2,433
Income from continuing operations	1,542	1,237	3,613	3,730
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	(1)	10	(1)	10
Net income	1,541	1,247	3,612	3,740
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(1)	(1)	(2)	(1)
Net income attributable to CVS Health	$ 1,540	$ 1,246	$ 3,610	$ 3,739
Basic earnings per share:
Income from continuing operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	$ 1.44	$ 1.10	$ 3.34	$ 3.31
Income from discontinued operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.01
Earnings per share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.44	$ 1.11	$ 3.34	$ 3.32
Weighted averages shares outstanding, basic (in shares)	1,068	1,114	1,076	1,122
Diluted earnings per share:
Income from continuing operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	$ 1.43	$ 1.10	$ 3.32	$ 3.28
Income from discontinued operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.01
Earnings per share, diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.43	$ 1.11	$ 3.32	$ 3.29
Weighted averages shares outstanding, diluted (in shares)	1,073	1,121	1,082	1,130
Dividends declared per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.425	$ 0.350	$ 1.275	$ 1.050