Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of EPS (in shares)	17	18	16	19
Numerator for earnings per share calculation:
Net income	$ 1,219	$ 1,529	$ 6,217	$ 4,887
Income allocated to participating securities	0	0	0	(3)
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	5	1	(11)	0
Net income attributable to CVS Health	$ 1,224	$ 1,530	$ 6,206	$ 4,884
Denominator for earnings per share calculation:
Weighted average shares, basic (in shares)	1,310	1,302	1,308	1,300
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	5	3	6	3
Weighted average shares, diluted (in shares)	1,315	1,305	1,314	1,303
Earnings per share:
Earnings per share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.93	$ 1.17	$ 4.74	$ 3.76
Earnings per share, diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.93	$ 1.17	$ 4.72	$ 3.75