The president pointed to benefits already available under the 3-year-old health care law, including ending discrimination against children with pre-existing conditions and permission to keep young people on their parents' insurance plans until they turn 26.
But he conceded the troubled launch of the open enrollment period that began Oct. 1.
"There's no excuse for it," he said. "And I take full responsibility for making sure it gets fixed ASAP. We are working overtime to improve it every day."
Underscoring the president's challenge, the healthcare.gov website was down, because of technical difficulties, during his remarks.
Obama also tried to clarify the most recent controversy surrounding the law — the wave of cancellation notices hitting small businesses and individuals who buy their own insurance. When he was trying to sell the health care overhaul bill to the public, Obama had vowed that anyone who liked their insurance would be able to keep it.
The cancellation notices apply to people whose plans changed after the law was implemented or don't meet new coverage requirements. The president said those changes ensure that all Americans are able to get quality coverage.
"If you're getting one of these letters, just shop around in the new market place," he said. "That's what it's for."
He said that because of government subsidies, most people who must get new policies will pay less than they are now.
Obama pointed to the bipartisan effort to get the program launched in Massachusetts, contrasting it to the Republican attempts to defund or delay the federal law. He spoke in Boston's historic Faneuil Hall, where Massachusetts Republican Gov. Mitt Romney was joined by the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy to sign the state's 2006 health care overhaul bill.
Republicans say the current computer dysfunction is more reason to repeal the law, and they're pressing Obama administration officials for an explanation.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defended the health care overhaul at a House committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday, apologized for the problem-riddled enrollment launch. She also had to address questions about a government memo raising new security concerns about healthcare.gov.
Using the Massachusetts law as an example, Jonathan Gruber, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor who advised both Romney and Obama on the development of their laws, said only 123 paying consumers signed up the first month of the Massachusetts law, with 36,000 coming on by the time penalties kicked in for failing to have insurance.
In a statement Wednesday, Romney said he believes "a plan crafted to fit the unique circumstances of a single state should not be grafted onto the entire country."
"Beyond that, had President Obama actually learned the lessons of Massachusetts health care, millions of Americans would not lose the insurance they were promised they could keep, millions more would not see their premiums skyrocket and the installation of the program would not have been a frustrating embarrassment," Romney added.
Obama, who lived in Boston while a student at Harvard University, was in town for a World Series game day, but his spokesman said he didn't plan to make a side trip to Fenway Park. Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama was mindful of the impact his security entourage has on the public and never considered attending.
But sports still figured into his itinerary. Obama got a private, advance view of a statue honoring Hall of Fame basketball player Bill Russell. The statue was scheduled to be unveiled in Boston's City Hall Plaza on Friday. Russell, who played for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969, joined the president.
While in Boston, Obama also planned to speak at a fundraiser for House Democrats at the home of his former ambassador to Spain, Alan Solomont. About 60 people paid $16,200 to $64,800 to dine on Spanish-influenced fare, to be followed by Red Sox cookies in honor of the World Series game being played in town the same night.
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Associated Press writer Steve LeBlanc in Boston contributed to this report.
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