WASHINGTON -- An expected House vote on health care reform Saturday has become a divisive issue for upstate lawmakers.

Democratic freshman Rep. Eric Massa of Corning has announced plans to join most Republicans, including Rep. Chris Lee of the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, in voting against the bill.

But as of Thursday, Democratic Reps. Dan Maffei of DeWitt, Mike Arcuri of Utica and Scott Murphy of Glens Falls were undecided how they'll vote.

All three are opposed to one of the proposed new taxes that would help pay to expand health coverage to millions more Americans. They believe upstate manufacturers could be hurt by a 2.5 percent federal excise tax on medical devices sold after Dec. 31, 2012.

Maffei is concerned the tax would add to the costs for Skaneateles Falls-based Welch Allyn Inc. to export its medical equipment around the world.

Responding to those concerns, White House economist Jared Bernstein said, "Health care reform should help to expand the domestic market for these manufacturers, and I'm confident they will be competitive."

He said the administration has not yet endorsed any specific taxes in the health care legislation.

Maffei and Massa also said they're concerned the legislation may not go far enough in reducing the future growth of health care costs.

New York lawmakers earlier had problems with a proposed 5.4 percent surtax on high-income households. But that proposal was revised recently to apply to individuals making $500,000 (instead of $280,000) and to families earning $1 million (instead of $500,000).

Arcuri said he'll decide how to vote after he finishes reading the bill. Saturday's vote, he said, is just one step toward a final health care measure that both the House and Senate agree on.

"We still have to see the Senate bill, which is in some respects better than our bill," he said.

Elsewhere in the state, there is greater consensus on the legislation.

Hudson Valley Democratic Reps. John Hall, Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey and Maurice Hinchey are solidly behind the bill.

"I am still reading the most recent changes, but most of them are ones that I fought for," Hall said. He said the revised bill would end the health insurance industry's antitrust exemption and would exempt more small businesses from a requirement to cover employees.

Lowey, D-Harrison, who had opposed the original income tax surtax because of its potential impact on her Westchester County district, said the revised legislation is much better.

"There's a whole list of provisions that will be effective January 2010, and I insisted on that," she said.

Among them: a provision to immediately bar insurers from imposing a lifetime cap on benefits, drug discounts for seniors affected by the "doughnut hole" gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage, and creation of a high-risk pool for the uninsured.

Hinchey, D-Hurley, said he plans to vote yes on Saturday.

"I think the bill is not perfect by any means, but it makes some significant positive changes in the health care system," he said,

House Democratic leaders say they have the 218 votes they need to pass the legislation, but Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Thursday, "I think it's going to be close."

Tuesday's two Democratic wins in special House elections give Democrats a 258-177 majority, meaning they could pass the bill even if 40 Democrats and all Republicans vote against it.

Democratic Rep.-elect Bill Owens of Plattsburgh, one of Tuesday's winners, is expected to be sworn in Friday. The other winner, Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., was sworn in Thursday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California predicted Thursday that both new members will vote for the bill. But a spokesman for Owens said it's too soon to say.

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Contact Brian Tumulty at Btumulty(at)gannett.com

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On the Web:

http://healthreform.kff.org, health care reform information from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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BREAKOUT

House health care reform plan by the numbers@

Cost - $1.1 trillion over 10 years

Impact on deficit (after new taxes, penalties and spending cuts) - $104 billion reduction over 10 years.

Number of newly insured - About 36 million.

Number of remaining uninsured - About 18 million (approximately one-third would be illegal immigrants).

Number of people who would participate in government-run "public" health insurance plan: 6 million, or 2 percent of non-elderly Americans.

Average premiums for low-cost plans in 2016 for people/families not buying insurance through an employer: $5,300/$15,000

What individual and families would have to earn to qualify for new surtax: More than $500,000 for individuals and more than $1 million for families.

Source: Congressional Budget Office

AP-NY-11-05-09 1708EST