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 (recently) 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.” …

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. …

This isn’t making life for anyone, including college students, more affordable.

— Distributed by The Associated Press