Obamacare hits universities

Add another financial burden on today's university students: Obamacare.

Ave Maria University in Collier County announced recently that it would no longer offer group health insurance because of the surging costs. The university says 15% of its students are enrolled in the plan (most students obtain health insurance through their parents' plans).

The university recently learned that students on its plan would face a 66% increase in premiums to $1,392 per year in addition to more than doubling the annual deductible to $250. That's because Obamacare now requires insurers to pay for “preventive care services.”

It doesn't help that such preventive-care services also include abortion-inducing drugs, giving the Catholic university another reason not to offer the group plan. Ave Maria is among the schools, including University of Notre Dame, suing the federal government over that part of Obamacare's mandate.