Facts
The case concerns the authorization of service providers to work at the expense of compulsory health insurance. Dr. med. N. requested an exception permit from the Health Directorate of the Canton of Zurich on October 11, 2006, pursuant to Art. 3 of the Ordinance of July 3, 2002, on the restriction of the authorization of service providers. The Health Directorate rejected the request by decision of April 11, 2007. Dr. med. N. appealed to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich, which dismissed the appeal by decision of August 23, 2007. Subsequently, Dr. med. N. filed a public law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
The parties are: Dr. med. N. (appellant), the Health Directorate of the Canton of Zurich (preceding authority), and the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich (preceding authority). The decisions were made on April 11, 2007, August 23, 2007, and December 12, 2007.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examines its jurisdiction ex officio (Art. 29 para. 1 FSCA). The contested decision was made in application of Art. 55a HIA and the Authorization Ordinance. According to Art. 83 lit. r FSCA, the appeal to the Federal Supreme Court is inadmissible against decisions in the field of health insurance that the Federal Administrative Court has made based on Art. 34 FACA.
The provision of Art. 34 FACA is a deviation from the model instance progression. This deviation was justified by the fact that decisions of the cantonal governments in health policy issues were previously appealable to the Federal Council without further appeal to a court. A judicial review at the federal level was to be introduced, but an opening of the appeal procedure to the Federal Supreme Court was not considered due to overloading.
Th…