As House Democratic leaders scramble to line up enough votes to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation, the White House dispatched a high-ranking policy adviser to tout the plan to the hometown newspaper of U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy, who as of Friday evening was undecided on his vote.

"Far too many of our health care dollars are wasted in procedures and tests that we know very little about in terms of their effectiveness," Jared Bernstein, chief economist to Vice President Joseph Biden, said Friday in a telephone interview with The Post-Star.

Moira Mack, a regional White House spokeswoman who arranged the interview, said the administration occasionally likes to "reach out" to regional media on key issues.

Bernstein said the House bill, which could be voted on this weekend, encompasses President Obama's plan to overhaul payment methodology, reduce the growth in health insurance premiums, and get more people enrolled in health plans.

"I think what's most important from our perspective that the bill encompass the principles that the president has set forth. And as he has said, the House bill does that big time," Bernstein said.

A vote on the bill had originally been expected on Saturday, but House Democratic leaders on Friday said it may be pushed back until Sunday or early next week.

House Democratic leaders acknowledged that as of Friday morning they did not have enough votes to pass it, the Associated Press reported.

Murphy, D-Glens Falls, said Friday evening in a telephone interview that he was still undecided.

"I'm working my way through the bill. There obviously are several things about this that are very good," he said.

"I think getting everybody insurance is a good thing. I think that getting rid of the pre-existing condition is a very good thing," he said. "I am still concerned about the cost. And I am concerned about several of the ways that we're paying for it, in particular a tax on medical device companies and a tax on paper mills that was just recently added to the bill."

Murphy said his decision does not hinge on whether there is enough support to pass the bill without his vote.

"No -- that's not how I am making my decision," he said.

Murphy, who represents a congressional district with a heavy Republican voting enrollment advantage, has faced intense lobbying from both supporters and opponents of the bill in recent days.

Health Care for America Now, a coalition of advocacy organizations, staged a demonstration outside Murphy's Clifton Park office on Thursday evening, urging the congressman to vote in support of the bill.

"Every vote counts," said Chris Scoville of Citizen Action, one of the groups in the coalition.

Business groups, such as the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, have opposed the legislation, suggesting it would increase the federal debt and has a "pay-or-play" mandate that requires businesses to either provide some level of health insurance or pay a penalty.

"We're very concerned with the reform measures as they're being proposed," said Peter Aust, president and chief executive of the chamber.

Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, based in Glens Falls, typically does not take positions on federal legislation, said Todd Shimkus, president and CEO of the local chamber.

Republicans will be watching Murphy's vote closely and will make it an issue in the 2010 election if he votes in favor of the bill, said Warren County Republican Chairman Michael Grasso.

"If they (Democratic leaders) put pressure on him and he goes in that way, I think he's going to be in trouble," Grasso said.

Scoville, of Citizen Action, said Murphy won a special election in the 20th Congressional District in March, in part, because of his support for health care reform.

"We got him elected by a lot of hard work," he said.

Scoville said his group is planning a follow up rally next week, regardless of how Murphy votes.

"Hopefully it's a thank you event," he said.

Health care reform legislation also has a significance on local employment.

Glens Falls Hospital is the largest private employer in the Glens Falls area, and there also are several local medical device manufacturing plants.

Bernstein, the Biden adviser, said hospitals will benefit because fewer uninsured people will be seeking care, and medical device plants will benefit because as more people have health insurance they will be more likely to have medical procedures done that require devices.

Bernstein said a key feature of the House proposal is "an exchange" that allows individuals and businesses to buy insurance through a competitive process.

"Essentially what the exchange does is it pools the leverage or bargaining power of a lot of folks who are acting as individuals right now in the health care market and ending up paying double digit premiums for health care coverage," he said.