Health Care

Notre Dame ending no-cost contraceptive coverage

The University of Notre Dame is reportedly ending its free contraceptive coverage after the Trump administration rolled back an ObamaCare requirement that employers include birth control coverage in their health insurance plans.

The Catholic university will stop the coverage starting on Jan. 1, 2018, according to The South Bend Tribune.

Coverage will end for students on the university’s health-care plan on Aug. 14, 2018.

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Employees in the past had been able to get contraceptives and contraceptive services at no cost through a third party. This allowed Notre Dame to continue its religious opposition to contraceptives while still meeting the ObamaCare requirement, according to the South Bend Tribune.

“The University recently settled its lawsuit challenging the Mandate, following President Trump’s executive order that, among other things, removed the requirement for and funding of the separate coverage,” the university wrote to employees.

Under the university’s plan, people will still have access to contraceptive medications “when there is an appropriate medical necessity as shown by a treating physician.”

“The use of the medication must be for treating a specific medical condition and not as a means of preventing pregnancy,” the university said.

The Trump administration earlier this month published rules that said any for-profit or nonprofit employer or insurer can stop following the birth control mandate on moral and religious grounds.

ObamaCare mandated that employers offer health insurance that covers birth control without a co-pay, with exemptions for houses of worships and some companies.

The Trump administration’s rollback has the potential to impact millions of Americans who currently receive birth control with no co-payments.