Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)	7.7	3.5	6.4	2.4
Numerator for earnings per share calculations:
Income from continuing operations	$ 1,542	$ 1,237	$ 3,613	$ 3,730
Income allocated to participating securities	(7)	(6)	(18)	(18)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(1)	(1)	(2)	(1)
Income from continuing operations attributable to CVS Health	$ 1,534	$ 1,230	$ 3,593	$ 3,711
Denominators for earnings per share calculations:
Weighted averages shares outstanding, basic (in shares)	1,068.0	1,114.0	1,076.0	1,122.0
Stock options (in shares)	5.0	7.0	6.0	8.0
Weighted averages shares outstanding, diluted (in shares)	1,073.0	1,121.0	1,082.0	1,130.0
Earnings per share from continuing operations:
Income from continuing operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	$ 1.44	$ 1.10	$ 3.34	$ 3.31
Income from continuing operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	$ 1.43	$ 1.10	$ 3.32	$ 3.28