Condensed Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions		Total	Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment	[2]	Total CVS Health Shareholders’ Equity	Total CVS Health Shareholders’ Equity Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment	[2]	Common Shares	Treasury Stock		Common Stock and Capital Surplus		Retained Earnings	Retained Earnings Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment	[2]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment	[2]	Noncontrolling Interests
Shares outstanding, balance at beginning of period (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2021								1,744
Treasury shares outstanding, balance at beginning of period (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2021	[1]								(422)
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2021		$ 75,381	$ (540)		$ 75,075	$ (540)			$ (28,173)	[1]	$ 47,377	[3]	$ 54,906	$ 91		$ 965	$ (631)		$ 306
Shareholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income (loss)		2,355			2,354								2,354						1
Other comprehensive income (loss)		(763)			(763)											(763)
Stock option activity, stock awards and other (in shares)								3
Stock option activity, stock awards and other		300			300						300	[3]
Purchases of treasury shares, net of ESPP issuances (in shares)	[1]								(19)
Purchase of treasury shares, net of ESPP issuances		(1,972)			(1,972)				$ (1,972)	[1]
Common stock dividends		(730)			(730)								(730)
Other increases (decreases) in noncontrolling interests		3																	3
Shares outstanding, balance at end of period (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2022								1,747
Treasury shares outstanding, balance at end of period (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2022	[1]								(441)
Balance at end of period at Mar. 31, 2022		74,034			73,724				$ (30,145)	[1]	47,677	[3]	56,621			(429)			310
Shares outstanding, balance at beginning of period (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2022								1,758
Treasury shares outstanding, balance at beginning of period (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2022	[1]								(458)
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2022		71,769			71,469				$ (31,858)	[1]	48,193	[3]	56,398			(1,264)			300
Shareholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income (loss)		2,142			2,136								2,136						6
Other comprehensive income (loss)		389			389											389
Stock option activity, stock awards and other (in shares)								1
Stock option activity, stock awards and other		122			122						122	[3]
Purchases of treasury shares, net of ESPP issuances (in shares)	[1]								(22)
Purchase of treasury shares, net of ESPP issuances		(1,962)			(1,962)				$ (1,944)	[1]	(18)
Common stock dividends		(781)			(781)								(781)
Other increases (decreases) in noncontrolling interests		(99)			9						9								(108)
Shares outstanding, balance at end of period (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2023								1,759
Treasury shares outstanding, balance at end of period (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2023	[1]								(480)
Balance at end of period at Mar. 31, 2023		$ 71,580			$ 71,382				$ (33,802)	[1]	$ 48,306	[3]	$ 57,753			$ (875)			$ 198

[1] Treasury shares include 1 million shares held in trust and treasury stock includes $29 million related to shares held in trust as of March 31, 2023 and 2022 and December 31, 2022 and 2021.

[2] Reflects the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018-12, Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts (Topic 944) during the three months ended March 31, 2023. See Note 1 ‘‘Significant Accounting Policies’’ for additional information.

[3] Common stock and capital surplus includes the par value of common stock of $18 million as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 and $17 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.