Before reading this article, click "Follow" in the upper right corner, which is convenient for you to discuss and share, and can bring you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support!
The New Rural Cooperative Medical System (New Rural Cooperative Medical System) is a social security system implemented by the Chinese government to improve the level of rural medical security. Since the pilot began in 2003, the new rural cooperative has reached nearly 900 million farmers across the country, providing them with basic medical care and compensation. However, in recent years, the new agricultural cooperative has faced a serious problem: the suspension of payment. According to statistics, in 2019, the number of participants in the new rural cooperative insurance in the country was 880 million, 11 million fewer than in 2018, and the payment interruption rate reached 1.2%. In 2020, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the suspension rate rose to 2.5%. This means that 22 million farmers have given up the guarantee of the new agricultural cooperation. This phenomenon has aroused concern and concern from all walks of life. Why are more and more farmers choosing to cut off payments to the new agricultural cooperative? What impact does this have on themselves and society? How to effectively solve this problem? This article will analyze and discuss the following three aspects.
Part I: The Causes of the New Agricultural Cooperation Suspension Problem
To solve the problem of the new agricultural cooperative payment cut, we must first find out the cause of its occurrence. According to relevant studies and investigations, the main reasons for the suspension of payment of the new agricultural cooperative are as follows:
- Increase in health insurance costs. The New Agricultural Cooperation is a system of voluntary participation, individual contributions, government subsidies and social financing. Among them, individual contributions are the obligations that the insured must undertake. However, with the rise of medical costs and policy adjustments, individual contributions are also increasing. According to statistics, the average national individual payment standard for new agricultural cooperatives in 2019 was **120 yuan**, an increase of **30 yuan** over 2018, an increase of **3.3%**. This is a big burden for some peasant families with financial difficulties or income instability. They may need to save money in other areas or forgo other insurance programs to cope with the demands of life. Therefore, for them, the suspension of the new agricultural synthesis is a way to reduce the burden.
- Inadequate medical insurance benefits. Although the new rural cooperative provides basic medical security and compensation for the insured, its treatment level is still low. According to the regulations, the new agricultural cooperative only reimburses outpatient chronic diseases and hospitalization expenses, and there are certain limits and proportions. For example, in 2019, the national hospitalization reimbursement rate was **75%**, but in some areas it was only **50%** or lower; Outpatient chronic disease reimbursement rates average **50%**, but in some areas only **30%** or less. In addition, there are some unreasonable regulations in the New Agricultural Cooperative Cooperation, such as not reimbursing self-paid drugs, not reimbursing medical expenses in different places, and not reimbursing special disease expenses. These regulations make insured persons also have to bear higher out-of-pocket expenses when seeking medical treatment, reducing their sense of gain and satisfaction. Some farmers believe that the level of protection of the new agricultural cooperative is too low to be worth paying, so they choose to cut off the payment.
- Lack of health insurance administration. As a social security system, the new agricultural cooperative needs to have a sound management mechanism and supervision mechanism to ensure its effective operation and fairness. However, there are still some problems and loopholes in the management of the new agricultural cooperation, such as inconvenient payment methods, opaque payment information, untimely payment reminders, complicated reimbursement processes, lax reimbursement review, and misappropriation of reimbursement funds. These problems lead to mistrust and dissatisfaction among the insured, affecting their willingness and behavior to enroll. Some farmers choose to stop paying the new agricultural cooperative because of difficulties in paying fees or troublesome reimbursements, or because they are worried about being defrauded or wasted.
To sum up, the main reasons for the problem of the new rural cooperative payment are the increase in medical insurance costs, the lack of medical insurance treatment and the lack of medical insurance management. These reasons interact and together influence farmers' insurance decisions and behaviors.
Part II: The Impact of the New Agricultural Cooperation Suspension Issue
The issue of the suspension of contributions by the new agricultural cooperative has a significant impact not only on the insured themselves, but also on society. Specifically, there are mainly the following aspects:
- Affects the health and welfare of the insured person. The suspension of the new agricultural cooperative payment means that the insured loses basic medical protection and compensation, which will increase their financial burden and risk when they fall ill. On the one hand, they may abandon or delay medical treatment because they cannot afford high medical costs, resulting in worsening or death; On the other hand, they may fall into poverty or debt because of medical treatment, resulting in hardship or family breakdown. These consequences will seriously impair the health and well-being of the insured person, affecting their quality of life and well-being.
- Affect the stability and development of society. The new rural cooperative payment will weaken the coverage and efficiency of the social security system, and affect social equity and justice. On the one hand, the suspension of payment by the new agricultural cooperation will aggravate the uneven distribution of medical resources and the difference in the quality of medical services between urban and rural areas, regions and groups, resulting in social differentiation and confrontation. On the other hand, the suspension of the new agricultural cooperative payment will increase the medical burden and risk of the society, and trigger social dissatisfaction and protests. These consequences will threaten the stability and development of society and affect the long-term peace and stability of the country, as well as its prosperity and democracy.
In view of the causes and impacts of the new agricultural cooperative payment problem, this paper believes that measures need to be taken from the following aspects to effectively solve this problem:
1. Reduce health insurance costs. In order to reduce the financial burden of the insured, the government should appropriately lower the individual contribution standard of the new agricultural cooperative or increase the proportion of government subsidies. At the same time, the government should strengthen the control of medical costs, such as regulating medical prices, promoting medical groups, and implementing medical volume control. In this way, it can not only reduce the payment pressure of the insured, but also reduce their out-of-pocket costs, and improve their willingness and behavior to participate in the insurance.
- Improve medical insurance benefits. In order to increase the sense of gain and satisfaction of the insured, the government should appropriately increase the treatment level of the new agricultural cooperative or expand its coverage. For example, the government can increase the reimbursement rate and limit of the new agricultural cooperation, or increase the reimbursement items for some special diseases and self-paid drugs; The government can also abolish or relax the restrictions on long-distance medical treatment in the new rural cooperative or establish a cross-regional and cross-system medical insurance settlement mechanism. In this way, it can not only increase the reimbursement income of the insured, but also increase their medical choices and convenience, and improve their willingness and behavior to participate in the insurance.
- Improve medical insurance management. In order to enhance the trust and satisfaction of the insured, the government should improve the management mechanism and supervision mechanism of the new agricultural cooperative to ensure its effective operation and fairness. For example, the government can simplify and optimize the payment methods and reimbursement processes of the new agricultural cooperatives, or use information technology to improve its transparency and efficiency; The government can also strengthen the evaluation and supervision of the quality and effectiveness of the new agricultural cooperation, or crack down on various violations and fraud. In this way, it can not only reduce the difficulty and trouble of payment and reimbursement of participants, but also reduce their worries and dissatisfaction, and improve their willingness and behavior to participate in insurance.
To sum up, this paper argues that to solve the problem of the new rural cooperative payment, it is necessary to start from three aspects: reducing medical insurance costs, improving medical insurance treatment and improving medical insurance management, so as to effectively improve farmers' willingness and behavior to participate in insurance. In this way, not only can the health and welfare of farmers be guaranteed, but also the stability and development of society can be promoted.
If you like my article, you can click "Follow", and you can receive the article push as soon as you become an iron fan.