Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of EPS (in shares)	17	23	15	19
Numerator for earnings per share calculation:
Net income	$ 2,986	$ 1,931	$ 4,998	$ 3,358
Income allocated to participating securities	0	(1)	0	(3)
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(11)	5	(16)	(1)
Net income attributable to CVS Health	$ 2,975	$ 1,935	$ 4,982	$ 3,354
Denominator for earnings per share calculation:
Weighted average shares, basic (in shares)	1,309	1,301	1,307	1,299
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	5	1	6	3
Weighted average shares, diluted (in shares)	1,314	1,302	1,313	1,302
Earnings per share:
Earnings per share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 2.27	$ 1.49	$ 3.81	$ 2.58
Earnings per share, diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 2.26	$ 1.49	$ 3.79	$ 2.58