IntroductionAustralia has one of the most successful healthcare systems in the world. GPs play a central role in and have a huge impact on a thriving healthcare system, as GPs lead the primary healthcare system, which is essential for community health and wellbeing people. Nowadays, the controversial issue of a $5 co-pay for seeing a GP is being proposed by Tony Abbot's government. The government is considering scrapping bulk billing and requiring most Australians to pay a $5 copay each time they see a GP in a bid to save the budget. This is an indication of the end of the Medicare bulk billing system. Copayment was first introduced by the Hawke government in the 1990s, but rejected as an amendment. This was a controversial topic because the proposal could weaken the universality of Medicare (Maiden, S. 2013). Australians are concerned about the side effects of the new proposal, such as cost, family budget, politics, policy debates, appropriate use of health services and health outcomes. In this essay, the current situation of the Australian health system, the effect on the Australian nation, the function of general practice in relation to primary health care and an overview of the co-payment proposal will first be discussed. Next, the economic and equity arguments will be discussed, addressing the potential harms predicted by a $5 co-payment for general practitioners. Some obvious problems that may arise across the Australian nation and the Australian health system are tracked to demonstrate that the $5 co-payment is not the best proposition for Australian health. Current status of the Australian healthcare system and effect on the Australian nationAustralian healthcare system is summarized...... middle of paper ......f co-payment for medical care. Information document no. 5 on the national health strategy. Brook, R., Keeler, E., Lohr, k., Newhouse, J., Ware, J., Rogers, W., Davies, A., Sherbourne, C., Goldberg, G., Camp, P., Kamberg, C., Leibowitz, A., Keesey, J., Reboussin, D. (2006). The Health Insurance Experiment: A Classic RAND Study addresses the current debate over health care reform. RAND Company. Excerpt from the RAND experiment. Russell, D.L. (January 21, 2014). The co-payment of general practitioners does not reduce health costs. Australian Medical Association. Retrieved from https://ama.com.au/ausmed/gp-co-payment-no-way-cut-health-costsSweet, M. (2014, January 29). Further reform of the health system is needed – but GP co-payments are not a useful option. From the Croakey Heatlh blog: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2014/01/29/further-health-reform-is-needed-but-gp-co-payments-are-not-a- useful option/