WASHINGTON » President Barack Obama says some Republicans have an "ideological fixation" with stopping his health care law and that they have no plan to help millions of uninsured Americans.

At his news conference today, Obama defended his recent one-year delay in the law’s employer coverage requirement as a "tweak" that will ultimately help implement the legislation with fewer disruptions for businesses.

Obama chastised some Republicans who advocate a government shutdown this fall as a last-ditch effort to block the rollout of coverage for the uninsured. He says that’s a "bad idea" that will weaken the economy as a recovery is getting traction.

The president says that health care politics have gotten so overheated that the discussion of "Obamacare" doesn’t take place in a normal atmosphere.