In China's rural areas, health care has always been a big problem. Before 2002, medical care in rural areas was weak, and many farmers chose to endure their illnesses because of the high cost of medical treatment. In 2003, in order to solve this social problem, the Chinese government launched a new type of rural cooperative medical system (NCMS), which aims to reduce the medical burden of farmers through government funding and collective mutual assistance. This system marks a major step forward in China's rural medical insurance, with coverage rates increasing year by year, greatly alleviating the problem of "difficulty in seeing a doctor". With the in-depth implementation of medical insurance policies, some operational complexities and opacity have gradually emerged, bringing new confusion and challenges to farmers.
In a small village surrounded by fields in Jiangsu Province, the name Uncle Wang is a household name. He was over 70 years old, worked hard all his life, and was a large grain grower in the village. One morning, Uncle Wang went down to the field as usual to sow seeds, and suddenly, he felt the world spinning, and then fainted on the edge of the field.
Fortunately, Xiao Liu, a villager who was passing by, noticed the abnormality and hurriedly ran to help Uncle Wang, and called for others to help, and they quickly sent Uncle Wang to the nearest county-level hospital.
At the hospital, after a thorough examination, the doctor told Uncle Wang's family that he had a cerebral thrombosis and needed immediate surgery. After the operation, Uncle Wang stayed in the hospital for a week, spending a total of 10,000 yuan.
Uncle Wang originally thought that according to the policy of NCMS, this expense could be reimbursed by 80%, and at least 8,000 yuan could be returned. When he went to the medical insurance center for reimbursement with all the documents, the staff told him that he could actually be reimbursed less than 3,000 yuan.
"What's going on?" Uncle Wang asked puzzled.
The staff patiently explained: "Uncle Wang, the reimbursement of NCMS does have a proportion of 80%, but there are many details in it. The hospital you are treating has a high threshold and not all expenses will be reimbursed. For example, certain medications and consumables, as well as some of your examination fees, are beyond our standard catalog. ”
Uncle Wang was stunned when he heard this, he didn't expect that there were so many complicated regulations for medical reimbursement. When he returned home, he said to his wife, "It seems that although NCMS is good, it is not a panacea, and we have to prepare more ourselves." ”
In the following days, Uncle Wang conducted an investigation in the village and found that many villagers had similar confusions and experiences. He decided to convene a village meeting to discuss how to deal with the situation.
On the day of the meeting, almost everyone from the village came, and everyone sat around to share their experiences and dilemmas. Uncle Wang stood up and said: "We are all honest people, we usually only know how to farm, and we don't understand these policies enough. We need to find professionals to explain to us so that everyone can understand how to make better use of NCMS. ”
Everyone agreed, and the village committee decided to invite the county's medical insurance experts to give a detailed explanation, and hoped to promote the transparency and improvement of the policy.
A few weeks later, medical insurance experts came to the village and explained in detail the policies of NCMS, including what expenses can be reimbursed and which cannot, how to make reasonable arrangements for medical treatment and medication, and how to submit reimbursement materials correctly. After the meeting, Uncle Wang and the other villagers felt enlightened, and everyone learned how to use this policy more effectively.
After getting this knowledge, Uncle Wang not only learned how to see a doctor reasonably, but also actively helped other elderly people deal with reimbursement problems. He gradually became a "little expert" on the village's new agricultural cooperative policy, and was respected and grateful by the villagers.
Through Uncle Wang's story, we see the importance of medical security in rural China, and at the same time, it also reflects the limitations of current medical policies in practice. Although NCMS has its extensive coverage and basic guarantees, it is still a major challenge to the complexity of the policy for ordinary farmers. Through education and policy transparency, farmers can better use these resources and reduce their health burden. The story also shows the power of farmers to help themselves, and through collective learning and mutual assistance, they are better able to face life's challenges, which is not only an individual upliftment, but also a reflection of the development of the community as a whole.