Farmers' satisfaction on the new rural cooperative medical system(NCMS) in Ouhai District of Wenzhou City

Objective To understand the farmers' satisfaction on new rural cooperative medical system(NCMS) and find out shortcomings of NCMS.Methods A stratified and clustered sample of 647 families was recruited from the urban,suburban and mountains of Ouhai District,Wenzhou city.A questionnaire was used to collect their general information,the attitude on NCMS,the view for designated hospitals and reimbursement system.Results A total of 624 valid questionnaires were obtained,with 601 families joined the NCMS.Most of the farmers joined the NCMS voluntarily and believed it was beneficial,and intended to join it in the next year.313(52.1%) farmers were satisfied with the services provided by designated hospitals;125(20.8%) evaluated general;163(27.1%) were dissatisfied.271(45.1%) people who joined the NCMS had been reimbursed for medical expenses,and the average reimbursement ratio was 22.1%.172(63.5%) farmers expressed satisfaction with the reimbursement for hospitalization fee,89(32.8%) felt general,and 10 people(3.7%) dissatisfied.Conclusions The NCMS was generally accepted by the majority of farmers.However,it should be improved in some respects,such as in the medical staff,coverage of designated hospital,simplification of the reimbursement process,raising the proportion of reimbursement particularly for the outpatient costs.