Health reform implementation

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At his press conference Tuesday, Obama acknowledged “glitches and bumps” in the law’s rollout.

Republicans piled on President Obama over his concession Tuesday that there will be "glitches and bumps" in the rollout of his healthcare law.

Republican campaign committees seized on the comments, linking them to a poll released earlier Tuesday that showed the law remains unpopular.

"Though he proudly proclaimed that 90 percent of Americans are experiencing the benefits of ObamaCare, a new poll shows that only 35 percent of the country has a 'favorable' impression of the disastrous law," the National Republican Congressional Committee said.

Obama said his healthcare law is bound to hit some snags as it's fully enacted over the next six months.

A draft form released last month topped out at 15 pages, raising concerns the process would discourage applicants.

House Republicans and Democrats have joined together to re-introduce a bill that would expand the religious conscience exemptions under ObamaCare.

Under the Equitable Access to Care and Health (EACH) Act, individuals would have the option of being exempted from the Affordable Healthcare Act's mandate to buy health insurance. People could avoid the mandate by filing an affidavit as part of their tax return saying their religious beliefs keep them from buying insurance that meets federal standards.

The Obama administration wants to increase the amount it pays hospitals under Medicare.

In a 1,424-page proposal, set to be published in the Federal Register on May 10, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to increase the operating rates for long-term and short-term acute care at inpatient hospitals that treat patients covered by the government healthcare program, and is laying out some new features of the Affordable Care Act.

The CMS proposes increasing payments for acute care, which include short stays for non-chronic conditions like severe injuries or brief illnesses, by 0.8 percent, or about $27 million.

The agency also wants to increase payment rates for long-term care by 1.1 percent in 2014, estimated to come out to $62 million.

The agency's proposed increases account for offsets and reductions in spending, and would take effect starting in October.

Republicans introduced a bill Friday in response to allegations that top congressional officials are seeking to exempt Capitol Hill from ObamaCare's health insurance exchanges.

The measure from Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) would require that all federal employees — including the president, vice president and Cabinet members — purchase coverage through the marketplaces.

"If the ObamaCare exchanges are good enough for the hardworking Americans and small businesses the law claims to help, then they should be good enough for the president, vice president, Congress, and federal employees," Camp spokeswoman Sarah Swinehart said in a statement. 

Nearly half of the U.S. working population lacked health insurance or adequate coverage in 2012, but many of those individuals will benefit next year as major provisions of the Affordable Care Act take effect, according to The Commonwealth Fund.

The New York-based research foundation reported Friday that the uninsured population has risen substantially since 2003 and somewhat since 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law.

Last year, 55 million lacked health coverage for some time during the year, and 30 million had high out-of-pocket costs that rendered them underinsured. 

Republicans hammered Democrats for allegedly seeking to carve themselves out of a requirement in the healthcare law.