In his effort to persuade young voters he is their champion, President Barack Obama has been talking a lot about making college affordable. His audiences may want to consider what he has done to make the cost of living for college-age Americans higher.
Franciscan University of Steubenville officials announced this week they are dropping a health insurance program used by as many as 200 of the institution's students.
That should have come as no surprise because of one reason cited for the action. Franciscan is a Roman Catholic university and many of its students are staunchly loyal to church teaching.
Had Franciscan maintained its insurance program for students, policies would have had to cover birth control services many Catholics consider to be incompatible with church doctrine. Indirectly, the cost of such coverage would have been borne by those paying for policies, because of the new national health care law often referred to as ''Obamacare.''
Many Catholic leaders object to that requirement of the law. Franciscan officials, with strong support from students and parents, decided the only means of avoiding a conflict between the insurance requirement and their beliefs was to drop coverage for students.
Another concern was cost, however. Currently, students pay $588 a year for health insurance through the university.
Changes mandated by Obamacare are expected to double the premiums, however. That would saddle students choosing the coverage with a major new burden in paying for higher education.
The changes are likely to increase the cost of private health insurance for most Americans, of course - but that is something the president doesn't talk about in his sales pitches to voters.
And there is a kicker to all this: Once the new law's provisions are implemented fully, Americans will have no choice but to obtain government-approved health insurance - quite likely at much higher premiums than they pay now.
This isn't making life for anyone, including college students, more affordable.