Facts
The married German nationals B. (born 1955) and A. (born 1950) relocated their place of residence to Switzerland in the autumn of 2015, where they received a residence permit B (without employment). Since 1 January 2016, A. has been receiving a regular old-age pension from the German Pension Insurance. The Groupe Mutuel Versicherungen Easy Sana Krankenversicherung AG (Easy Sana) had confirmed the conclusion of the insurance contract for the mandatory health insurance as of 1 January 2016 upon A.'s application. However, on 13 April 2016, Easy Sana informed that A. and his wife were subject to the obligation to have health insurance in Germany and not in Switzerland due to the foreign pension benefits. The concluded insurance contracts were therefore retroactively annulled as of 1 January 2016. A. and B. filed a complaint against this decision.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that A. and B. are not subject to the obligation to have health insurance under the Swiss Health Insurance Act (KVG). According to Art. 2 para. 1 let. e and f of the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV), persons residing in Switzerland but subject to compulsory health insurance in another EU member state due to the receipt of a pension from that state are exempt from the insurance obligation in Switzerland. This exemption provision corresponds to the provisions of EU Coordination Regulation No. 883/2004, according to which pensioners residing in a state other than the pension-paying state are entitled to benefits in kind in the event of illness in the pension-paying state. Thus, the pension-paying state is also responsible for the compulsory health insurance and contributions.
The Federal Supreme Court held that the application…