Administration: 'Obamacare' to offer more choices

(AP)—The White House says insurance companies are showing interest in providing coverage under the new health care law, a development likely to increase market competition and give uninsured people more choices than they now have. Many of the 14 million people who currently buy their own insurance plans could also benefit.

Eager to counter Republican criticism of the law, the White House's upbeat assessment comes four months before consumers can begin shopping for subsidized private insurance in new state markets.

A White House memo concludes that most of the consumers who seek insurance from federal- or state-run insurance markets will be able to choose from five or more different insurance companies.

Currently the insurance market in most states is dominated by one or two insurance carriers.