Kenya’s health purchasing reforms improved access and financial protection but face challenges like service awareness and delayed payments, requiring coordinated interventions.
This review examines health purchasing reforms in Kenya and their impact on health system outcomes, including equity, access, quality of care, and financial protection. Categorized into benefits specification, provider payment, and performance monitoring, the reforms have improved access to services and financial risk protection but faced challenges like limited service awareness and delayed payments. While enhancing service delivery and quality of care, they also led to negative provider behaviour. The study suggests aligning and jointly implementing these reforms, emphasizing communication of health benefits, timely payment of providers, and enhancing health facility autonomy.