President Obama defended the Affordable Care Act in a Tuesday speech, asserting that HealthCare.gov is working better and people are getting covered.

“The bottom line is this law is working and will work into the future,” he said at the White House. “People want the financial stability of health insurance, and we’re going to keep on working to fix whatever problems come up in any startup or launch of a project this big that has an impact on one-sixth of our economy.”

Obama touted the 500,000 people enrolled in private coverage or Medicaid during the first month of the marketplaces created by the law.

“What we also know is that after just after the first month, despite all of the problems in the rollout, about half a million people across the country are poised to gain health care coverage through marketplaces and Medicaid beginning Jan. 1. Some for the very first time,” he said.

“That number is increasing every day and will keep growing and growing because we know there are 41 million people out there without health insurance. We know there are a whole bunch of folks out there underinsured or who don’t have a good deal. We know the demand is there and the marketplace provides choice and competition for people to allow people to have the security that health insurance can provide.”