The controversial ruling that requires religious institutions to provide birth control won’t apply to about 200,000 college and graduate students, the White House said Friday. Students who participate in self-insured plans where the school receives premiums directly from the students and then pools the money to pay for their health care costs will not be eligible for types of plans due to technical legal reasons. At least 800,000 other students will be eligible for contraception coverage because their schools don’t directly pay for the medication—including Georgetown University, where Sandra Fluke, the woman who became the face of birth-control coverage, attends law school. The administration also recommended different ways for self-insuring employers to deal with covering contraception, including hiring a third party to administer the plans or to grant them rebates for the medication.
