JLN Financing and Payment Models for Primary Health Care: Six Lessons from JLN Country Implementation Experience

Countries find it challenging to develop financing and payment systems for PHC that align with payment systems at other service delivery levels and create both opportunity and incentives to provide better primary care, ensure more equitable access, and shield families from impoverishing out-of-pocket payments. Little evidence is available on effective payment models for PHC that help shift the balance of resources and services toward primary care and prevention to improve population health. Many countries, including those in the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage1 (JLN), have tried a wide variety of approaches and models for PHC financing and payment, but few of those experiences have been evaluated or their lessons well documented for an international audience.