Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Numerator for earnings per share calculation:
Income from continuing operations	$ 7,898	$ 7,201	$ 6,631
Income allocated to participating securities	0	0	(5)
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	12	(13)	3
Income from continuing operations attributable to CVS Health	$ 7,910	$ 7,188	$ 6,629
Denominator for earnings per share calculation:
Weighted average shares, basic (in shares)	1,319	1,309	1,301
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	10	5	4
Weighted average shares, diluted (in shares)	1,329	1,314	1,305
Earnings per share from continuing operations:
Earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations, basic (USD per share)	$ 6.00	$ 5.49	$ 5.10
Earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations, diluted (USD per share)	$ 5.95	$ 5.47	$ 5.08
Employee Stock Option
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of EPS (in shares)	7	15	17