Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Period of time between issuance and maturity of debt instrument, in PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of maximum advances or credit lines available from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB).

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The fee, expressed as a percentage of the line of credit facility, for the line of credit facility regardless of whether the facility has been used.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

+ References

+ Details

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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Reflects the total carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of debt having initial terms less than one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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Period Type:	duration

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Name:	us-gaap_ShortTermDebtTypeAxis=us-gaap_CommercialPaperMember
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Balance Type:
Period Type:

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Name:	us-gaap_ShortTermDebtTypeAxis=us-gaap_LineOfCreditMember
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Balance Type:
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Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=cvs_BackUpCreditFacilitiesMember
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Borrowings and Credit Arrangements - Short-term Borrowings (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Mar. 09, 2018
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Federal home loan bank advances maximum amount available	$ 925,000,000
2018 Senior Notes
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Debt face amount			$ 40,000,000,000
Commercial Paper
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Short-term debt	0
Line of Credit \| Back-Up Credit Facilities
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Short-term debt	$ 0	$ 0
Commitment fee percentage	0.03%
Line of Credit \| Revolving Credit Facility, Expiring May 12, 2021
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,000,000,000.0
Debt instrument term	364 days
Line of Credit \| Revolving Credit Facility, Expiring May 18, 2022
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,000,000,000.0
Debt instrument term	5 years
Line of Credit \| Revolving Credit Facility, Expiring May 17, 2023
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 2,000,000,000.0
Debt instrument term	5 years
Line of Credit \| Revolving Credit Facility, Expiring May 16, 2024
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 2,000,000,000.0
Debt instrument term	5 years
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Short-term debt	$ 0