Controversial issue of Co-payment

Introduction
Australia has one of the most successful health systems in the world. General practitioners are the central role of the flourishing health system and impact greatly on it as GPs lead primary health care system which is very imperative for the health of communities and keeps people well-being. Nowadays a controversial issue of a co-payment of $5 to see a GP is proposed by Tony Abbot Government. The government is considering rescinding bulk billing and requiring most Australians to pay $5 co-payment every time they visit a GP in order to save the budget. It is an indication of the end of the bulk billing Medicare system. The co-payment was first introduced by the Hawke government in the 1990s but rejected in a state of alteration. It was a subject prolific of controversy as the proposal might weaken the universality of Medicare (Maiden, S. 2013). Australian concerns about the side effects of the new proposal such as cost, family budget, policy, political debates, appropriate use of health care services and health outcomes. In this essay, current situation of the Australian health care system, effect to Australian nation, function of general practice in relation to primary health care, overview of the proposal of co-payment will be firstly addressed. Then arguments in terms of economic and equity will be discussed by addressing the potential detrimental effect, those, are predicted by $5 GP co-payment. Some evident issues that may arise entire Australian nation and health care system in Australia are followed to support that $5 co-payment is not the best proposal for Australian Health.
Current situation of the Australian health care system and Effect to Australian nation
The Australian health care system is summarised...

... middle of paper ...

...f consumer co-payments in medical care. National Health Strategy Background Paper No.5.
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 speaks to the current Health care reform debate. RAND coporation. Retrieved from RAND experiment.
Russell, D. L. (2014, January 21). GP co-payment no way to cut health costs. Australian Medical Association. Retrieved from https://ama.com.au/ausmed/gp-co-payment-no-way-cut-health-costs
Sweet, M. (2014, January 29). Further health reform is needed – but GP co-payments are not a helpful option. Retrieved from Croakey heatlh blog: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2014/01/29/further-health-reform-is-needed-but-gp-co-payments-are-not-a-helpful-option/