Hey Greg, in Australia we have a system that is called PBS or Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, my understanding of how the scheme works is. The Australian Government buys all the the drugs that needs a doctors prescription to be accessed and by doing so get a massive bulk buyer discount from the drug companies. By getting the drugs at a huge discount we pay anything from a couple of dollars if your a pensioner up to something like $50 if your working person for some of the most expensive drugs. I'll give you the link if you want to know more. cheers
http://www.pbs.gov.au/pbs/home;jsessionid=gv4pemsswkn91jwpwbb42oz58