Moore Calls for Health System Like Austria's

LOS ANGELES — Michael Moore has a suggestion to help Governor Schwarzenegger bring universal health care to the nation's largest state: Just do it the Austrian way.

"I would like Governor Schwarzenegger to say that he wants the citizens of California to have the same, fine, universal health coverage he got as a young man in the country of Austria," Mr. Moore said yesterday of the Austrian-born governor.

"That's all we're asking for, governor. Just give us the Austrian plan," Mr. Moore said at a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall for supporters of universal health care. "That great Austrian health-care system that provided you with that fine body that you brought to this great country."

With his health-care documentary "Sicko" opening nationwide Friday, Mr. Moore accompanied his advice with a few kind words for Mr. Schwarzenegger, who has proposed a plan to extend health-care coverage to most uninsured Californians and require all residents to carry insurance.

"I'll say this for the governor," Mr. Moore said. "At least unlike many Republicans, he's willing to recognize there's a problem. When you're willing to state there's a problem, what's the old cliché? You're 50% of the way there. ..."

"Now we have to help him come up with the right solution, and the right solution is not to mandate health care and to put the burden on the average working person, who's already overburdened."

"Sicko" features health-care horror stories from Americans who suffered financial hardship or lost loved ones after health insurers declined coverage. The film also chides American officials for failing to follow the lead of countries that have universal health coverage, such as Britain, Canada, and France. The Weinstein Co. and Lionsgate plan to release "Sicko" in about 400 theaters to start, roughly half the number for Mr. Moore's last film, the $100 million hit "Fahrenheit 9/11," in 2004.

Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co., said that because of its wider release, "Fahrenheit 9/11" came and went at theaters faster than he wanted. With "Sicko," he said he hoped for a longer shelf life similar to last year's "An Inconvenient Truth," Vice President Gore's global warming documentary.