Balancing financial incentives during COVID-19: A comparison of provider payment adjustments across 20 countries

•Public payers assumed most of the COVID-19-related financial risk.•Income loss was not a problem when providers were paid by salary, capitation or budgets.•Providers paid based on activity were compensated through budgets or higher fees.•New FFS payments were introduced to incentivize remote services.•Payments for COVID-19 related costs included new fees, per-diem and DRG tariffs.