Facts
Following contacts with the Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) in the early summer of 1998, the Board of Trustees of the Visana health insurance fund decided to withdraw from the mandatory health insurance in eight cantons. On August 26, 1998, Visana submitted a request to the FSIO for approval of this withdrawal. In response, on September 9, 1998, the CSS Insurance, the SWICA Health Organization, and the Helsana Insurance Companies AG (the three insurers) submitted a request for access to the files and the right to be heard to the Federal Department of the Interior (FDI) and the FSIO. By order of September 16, 1998, the FDI revoked Visana's permit to operate the mandatory health insurance in the eight cantons as of December 31, 1998 and imposed various conditions.
The three insurers filed an administrative court appeal against the FDI's order, with substantive requests for the annulment or amendment of the order, as well as procedural requests for the consolidation of the appeal proceedings and for joinder in Visana's appeal proceedings.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court first examined whether the three insurers have party status in the proceedings concerning the revocation of Visana's permit and thus are entitled to the asserted rights of hearing and procedure.
The Court concluded that while the health insurance funds as statutory implementing bodies of the mandatory health insurance are factually affected by the order, they do not have a similar…