Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic institution in Ohio, has decided to drop its entire student health insurance plan as of the fall semester 2012 because of the new federal rule requiring contraception coverage under most employee and student health policies. While a number of religious colleges have filed lawsuits over the birth control requirement, Franciscan is the first to get rid of its student health plan. 
 
 "The Obama Administration has mandated that all health insurance plans must cover 'women’s health services' including contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing medications as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)," the school announced on its website. "Up to this time, Franciscan University has specifically excluded these services and products from its student health insurance policy, and we will not participate in a plan that requires us to violate the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life." 
 
 Therefore, the statement continued, the university will no longer offer student health insurance, require that all full-time undergrads have health insurance, or bill those students not covered under another plan for health insurance. The current plan expires on Aug. 15, 2012. 
 
 The announcement is somewhat misleading. Under the new rule, Franciscan University would not have to pay for any student's contraception. The administration carved out an exemption for religious organizations, including Catholic schools, that would require the insurance company itself to pay for the insured's birth control coverage "directly and separately." Nonprofit schools that don't currently cover birth control can also qualify for a one-year transition period to comply with the new requirement. 
 
 Further, the birth control mandate does not include any "abortion-causing medications." Rather, it includes emergency contraception, which prevents pregnancy. But the U.S. Catholic bishops have frequently and publicly objected to the contraception coverage requirement based on the claim that it includes "abortifacients." 
 
 The university did not offer any alternatives to its nearly 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, but it did suggest they begin looking for other ways to pay for health care. 
 
 "We encourage you to decide how you are going to provide for accidents or illnesses requiring visits to physicians, health clinics, or the hospital emergency room while you are a student here," the announcement said. 
 
 Also on HuffPost: 

 Health Center 
 
 Campus Health Insurance Policy 
 
 The Obama Administration has mandated that all health insurance plans must cover “women’s health services” including contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing medications as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Up to this time, Franciscan University has specifically excluded these services and products from its student health insurance policy, and we will not participate in a plan that requires us to violate the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life. 
 
 Additionally, the PPACA increased the mandated maximum coverage amount for student policies to $100,000 for the 2012-13 school year, which would effectively double your premium cost for the policy in fall 2012, with the expectation of further increases in the future. 
 
 Due to these changes in regulation by the federal government, beginning with the 2012-13 school year, the University 1) will no longer require that all full-time undergraduate students carry health insurance, 2) will no longer offer a student health insurance plan, and 3) will no longer bill those not covered under a parent/guardian plan or personal plan for student health insurance. The current student health insurance plan will expire on August 15, 2012. 
 
 We encourage you to decide how you are going to provide for accidents or illnesses requiring visits to physicians, health clinics, or the hospital emergency room while you are a student here. As always, our Health Center on campus will be staffed by a certified nurse practitioner Monday – Friday during normal business hours. No insurance is necessary to receive basic health-related services at the Health Center, and the visits cost only $5 at the time of service. However, if you are referred off campus for further lab testing, physician specialists, X-rays, etc., you will be responsible to pay for those services. 
 
 While Studying Abroad 
 
 Those who study for a semester in Austria while students at Franciscan will be covered under a different plan—contact the Study Abroad Director for further information. Students will need to waive this plan to avoid being charged for it automatically. 
 
 Athletics 
 
 Students who participate in intercollegiate sports will be covered under a different plan during all activities related to that athletic endeavor. This plan does not incur a separate fee of its own; it is covered by the fee charged for participation in intercollegiate sports.
– The Franciscan University of Steubenville has decided to discontinue its entire student health insurance plan as a way to duck the Obama administration's contraceptives mandate. While a number of Catholic institutions have protested the mandate, the Ohio school is the first to actually drop its coverage, the Huffington Post reports. It has also dropped its requirement that students carry insurance. The health care reform law "has mandated that all health insurance plans must cover 'women’s health services' including contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing medications," the school wrote in a statement on its website. "We will not participate in any plan that requires us to violate the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life." Of course, as the HuffPo notes, the mandate doesn't actually include "abortion-causing medications," and thanks to a religious exemption, the insurance company would technically be paying for all contraceptives.