Farmers' Medical Insurance System In Japan And The Reference Value For China

After the disintegration of the Cooperative Farmers' Medical Care System in the 1980s, about 90% farmers in China do not have any kind of medical guarantee. As a result, illness has become a major obstacle for the development and prosperity of farmers. This not only prevents the growth of farmers' income, but also has a negative impact on the stability of the society and the realization of harmonious social development. Experts in health economy and health management have been paying much attention to the reforms of farmers' medical insurance system, and they have done much research regarding farmers' medical insurance system. Through the research of the establishment process of Japan's "National Medical Insurance" system and the analysis of the development of the Cooperative Farmers' Medical Care System in China, the thesis tries to find out the threat and problems with the Cooperative Farmers' Medical Care System in China, learn from the Farmers' Medical Insurance System in Japan on the basis of study, and put forward some proposals for the improvement of farmers' medical insurance system in China.Farmers' Medical Insurance System in Japan is a part of Japan's "National Medical Insurance" system. Through compulsive methods, all the agricultural population in Japan will have to participate in the medical insurance plans run by the governments of cities, towns or villages. Its major characteristics include: comprehensive legal systems, high percentage of government financial subsidy, sound operation and monitoring systems, continuous insurance reforms with the social development, and etc. In the farmers' medical insurance system in China, cooperative medical care is the most commonly used form. Cooperative Farmers' Medical Care System experienced four stages: establishment, implementation, downfall, and re-establishment. At present, its key problems are: the low coverage rate of farmers' medical insurance, the low level of medical care guarantee and the low utilization rate of hospitals in the countryside. The main reasons are: the lack of legal guarantee, the shortage of funds, the regional differences, the low level of social pooling, the low enthusiasm of the farmers' participation, and the poor management. Regarding these problems, this thesis, by learning from the experience from the Fanners' Medical Insurance System in Japan, proposes some resolutions for the improvement of the Farmers' Medical Insurance System in China, including the implementation of laws and regulations, the support and encouragement of government agencies, the establishment of operation and management mechanisms withChinese characteristics, cost-effective medical services, innovative farmers' medical insurance system modes, and effective monitoring systems.