我国长期以来,由于城乡二元经济结构的存在,与此相适应地形成了完全不同的城乡二元社会保障体系。城乡有别的医疗保障体系就是其中之一。建国几十年来,广大农村居民的医疗保障水平一直落后于城镇居民,未能获得公平的医疗服务。广大农民自人民公社时期合作医疗制度解体后,基本上处于自费看病状态。看病难、看病贵的现象在农村非常普遍,可以说大病是导致贫困的重要原因,大病更成为农民无力承担的风险。在这种情况下,广大农村居民迫切需要找到一条解决医疗保障问题的制度。而农村合作医疗具有鲜明的中国特色,是中国农民在自身医疗保障缺失情况下的一大创举。是人民在制度下,依靠农村集体经济组织的力量,农民自愿参加,全体成员通过集体经济共同筹集资金,并在成员之间互助、互济、分担医疗保健费用风险,具有医疗保险性质的为农村人口提供初级医疗保健服务的医疗保障制度。 For a long time in our country, due to the dual economic structure of urban and rural areas, a completely different urban-rural dual social security system has been formed correspondingly. One of these is the existence of a separate medical insurance system in urban and rural areas. For decades, since the founding of the People’s Republic, the medical security of the majority of rural residents has lagged behind that of urban residents and failed to obtain fair medical services. After the dissolution of the cooperative medical system from the people’s communes, the broad masses of peasants are basically at their own expense. Difficult to see a doctor, the doctor is expensive in rural areas is very common, it can be said that serious illness is an important cause of poverty, serious illness has become a farmer can not afford the risk. Under such circumstances, the majority of rural residents urgently need to find a system to solve the problem of medical security. Rural cooperative medical care, with its distinctive Chinese characteristics, is a major initiative of Chinese peasants in the absence of their own medical insurance. Under the system, the people depend on the power of the rural collective economic organizations and the peasants voluntarily participate. All the members jointly raise funds through the collective economy and help each other to share the risks of health care costs among the members. The nature of the medical insurance is rural The population provides a medical insurance system for primary health care services.