Decision on the Continuation of Debt Collection Proceedings Based on a Directive of a Health Insurance Fund

Facts

On August 20, 2001, the health insurance fund X. from Winterthur ordered that the insured person Y. owed a total amount of CHF 588.- plus costs and granted definitive enforcement of the debt collection proceedings against him. The debt collection office Binningen then set Y. a deadline of 10 days to raise objections pursuant to Art. 81 para. 2 DEBA. Y. informed the debt collection office that he "had not been summoned to any enforcement proceedings." The supervisory authority dismissed the complaint of the health insurance fund X. against this decision of the debt collection office.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court holds that objections pursuant to Art. 81 para. 2 DEBA are admissible against a directive of a health insurance fund based on Art. 80 KVG, which removes the objection to enforcement. Within the framework of Art. 79 para. 2 DEBA, the debt collection office merely has to examine whether the debtor's statement is formally admissible as an objection under Art. 81 para. 2 DEBA. In the present case, the debt collection office was entitled to interpret the debtor's notification that he "had not been…