This study examines recent health financing reforms in Nepal, Thailand, and Indonesia through a political economy lens. The objective is to understand whether and how crises can be leveraged to advance universal health coverage (UHC) and to analyse the strategies used by reformers to benefit from potential windows of opportunity. The findings reveal similarities and differences in the roles played by change teams across the settings, highlighting the importance of working closely with political leaders and using a wide range of strategies to build coalitions and engage or block opponents. The case studies also show how the broader context significantly impacted the strategies adopted and the content of the reform. The study suggests that political economy analysis can be one component of a flexible toolbox of analytics for preparing and navigating windows of opportunity to advance UHC.