Facts
The German national A., born in 1963, is employed as a cross-border worker in the canton of Bern. On March 3, 2010, he applied to the Office of Social Insurance of the Canton of Bern for exemption from the mandatory health insurance obligation in Switzerland, which was initially granted on a limited basis and later on an unlimited basis. A. was then insured for health through a VVG insurance product Mondial with Vivao Sympany AG and later with SWICA Gesundheitsorganisation.
On May 1, 2018, A. demanded to be admitted to the Swiss health insurance system, as SWICA had dissolved the VVG insurance model Mondial at the end of December 2016. The Office of Social Insurance rejected this request, as A. had already decided against being subject to the KVG compulsory insurance and thus had been and remained exempt from the health insurance obligation in Switzerland.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upholds A.'s appeal. It states that the option right under Annex II of the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons between Switzerland and the EU is generally irrevocable. However, the renewed exercise of the option right may…