By Susan Dickson, Staff Writer
Following complaints by a national anti-abortion organization, the UNC system last month began allowing students enrolled in the student health plan to opt out of an elective abortion benefit.
This is the first year that the 16-campus system has used one statewide student health plan and required all students to either enroll in the plan or provide proof of other insurance, said Joni Worthington, UNC system vice president for communications. However, 11 of the system’s schools had a similar requirement with individual health plans last year.
“All but one of [the 16] plans already had elective abortion included in the insurance plan,†Worthington said. “And the development of the university-wide plan … was based on programs that were already in place.â€
Students for Life of America, a national anti-abortion organization with local chapters on campuses across the country, approached the UNC Board of Governors in the second week of August regarding the inclusion of the abortion benefit in the student plan. Within a few days, Worthington said, UNC system President Erskine Bowles asked Pearce and Pearce, the provider of the insurance plan, to allow students to opt out of the benefit.
“It was an effort to accommodate those students who felt strongly about this issue,†Worthington said.
However, anti-abortion groups say the move by administrators isn’t enough and that the abortion benefit inclusion could be in violation of federal law under the Hyde Amendment, which since 1976 has barred the use of federal funds to pay for abortions.
“We are confident that our processes for awarding financial aid fully comply with federal financial aid policy and guidelines,†Worthington said.
Kristan Hawkins, group executive director of Students for Life of America, said that students who receive federal funds such as Pell grants to pay for their schooling are using those funds to pay for their health plans, and in turn, are funding abortions.
“Abortion should not be in health care. It’s not health care. It’s the exact opposite of health care,†she said.
Hawkins said her organization has sent letters to the N.C. General Assembly and contacted lawmakers on Capitol Hill regarding their concerns. Since August, Students for Life has been contacted by several other universities, Hawkins said.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,†she said.
Hawkins added that the abortion coverage in the plan should have been opt-in rather than opt-out, and that she was concerned that students who opt out are still paying for the abortions of those who don’t, since the premium remains the same cost whether or not students opt out.
“The utilization of this elective benefit would only be paid from the premiums of that group of students who did not opt out,†Worthington said. Adding the benefit to the plan did not raise the premium, she said, so opting out of the benefit would not lower the premium either.
Amy Sparks, president of UNC Medical Students for Choice, said the decision regarding what medical procedures are covered in health plans should be made by doctors.
“I am a little bit worried than when it goes before the Board of Governors … that they’re going to scale back all the coverage because of all the controversy,†Sparks said. “[Anti-abortion activists] don’t actually understand how health insurance works, that abortion is actually a cost-saving medical procedure.
“The price of paying for a pregnancy in any health insurance plan is one of the highest things you can pay for,†she added “[Abortion] is actually fairly low-cost compared to a lot of medical procedures.â€
Sparks said that an abortion costs about $400.
“For an insurance company, it’s not a lot of money, but for an undergraduate student it is,†Sparks said. “I don’t think anyone truly knows what they will do until they are faced with that situation.â€
As of last week, 940 students had opted out of the elective abortion benefit. About 107,000 students on the system’s campuses have waived out of the system’s plan by providing proof of other insurance.
Roughly 200,000 students would have been eligible for the plan, and students have until Sept. 30 to provide proof of other insurance if they choose not to use the plan.
There is no deadline to opt out of the elective abortion insurance benefit, Worthington said, as long as students haven’t filed an abortion claim.