The White House’s chief business liaison defended the new health-care law against corporate complaints over its costs.

White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

White House senior adviser and business liaison Valerie Jarrett said Sunday that the more than $2 billion in writedowns announced by companies anticipating higher benefits costs “is nothing compared to the enormous financial benefits to those very same companies by health insurance reform.” Speaking on ABC News’s “This Week,” Jarrett said the administration is “taking a number of measures that will dramatically reduce the cost [to] business. So on balance, business will come out way ahead, and that was one of the president’s objectives.

Analysts say the number announcements will grow in days ahead, but already AT&T Inc. said Friday that it would take a $1 billion writedown to account for the expected higher cost of providing a prescription drug benefit for its retirees. A half-dozen other companies have made similar announcements since the health bill was signed last week, including: $100 million at Caterpillar Inc.; $150 million by Deere & Co.; $31 million at AK Steel Holding Corp.; up to $90 million at 3M; and up to $20 million at Valero Energy.

The companies’ announcements reflect tension over the law, which some businesses say doesn’t adequately reduce overall health-care costs…