Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Revenues:
Premiums	$ 69,364,000,000	$ 63,122,000,000	$ 8,184,000,000
Net investment income	798,000,000	1,011,000,000	660,000,000
Total revenues	268,706,000,000	256,776,000,000	194,579,000,000
Operating costs:
Cost of products sold	163,981,000,000	158,719,000,000	156,447,000,000
Benefit costs	55,679,000,000	52,529,000,000	6,594,000,000
Goodwill impairments	0	0	6,149,000,000
Operating expenses	35,135,000,000	33,541,000,000	21,368,000,000
Total operating costs	254,795,000,000	244,789,000,000	190,558,000,000
Operating income	13,911,000,000	11,987,000,000	4,021,000,000
Interest expense	2,907,000,000	3,035,000,000	2,619,000,000
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	1,440,000,000	79,000,000	0
Other income	(206,000,000)	(124,000,000)	(4,000,000)
Income before income tax provision	9,770,000,000	8,997,000,000	1,406,000,000
Income tax provision	2,569,000,000	2,366,000,000	2,002,000,000
Income (loss) from continuing operations	7,201,000,000	6,631,000,000	(596,000,000)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	(9,000,000)	0	0
Net income (loss)	7,192,000,000	6,631,000,000	(596,000,000)
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(13,000,000)	3,000,000	2,000,000
Net income (loss) attributable to CVS Health	$ 7,179,000,000	$ 6,634,000,000	$ (594,000,000)
Basic earnings (loss) per share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	$ 5.49	$ 5.10	$ (0.57)
Loss from discontinued operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	(0.01)	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	$ 5.48	$ 5.10	$ (0.57)
Weighted average basic shares outstanding (in shares)	1,309	1,301	1,044
Diluted earnings (loss) per share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	$ 5.47	$ 5.08	$ (0.57)
Loss from discontinued operations attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	(0.01)	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to CVS Health (in dollars per share)	$ 5.46	$ 5.08	$ (0.57)
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding (in shares)	1,314	1,305	1,044
Dividends declared per share (in dollars per share)	$ 2.00	$ 2.00	$ 2.00
Cost, Product and Service [Extensible List]	us-gaap:ProductMember	us-gaap:ProductMember	us-gaap:ProductMember
Products
Revenues:
Revenue from Products and Services	$ 190,688,000,000	$ 185,236,000,000	$ 183,910,000,000
Services
Revenues:
Revenue from Products and Services	$ 7,856,000,000	$ 7,407,000,000	$ 1,825,000,000