The tumultuous health-care debate that brought you death panels and socialism has spun off a catalog of myths that will keep growing as all sides battle toward the midterm elections in fall. Here's a look at some of the myths and realities:

MYTH: Obama put the nation on a slippery slope toward socialism.

FACT: Government's role in health care has been steadily growing since Medicare and Medicaid were established. Dems dropped a government plan to compete with private carriers. So any "socialization" will be through UnitedHealthcare, WellPoint and other private insurance giants.

MYTH: You will be forced to pay for other people's abortions.

FACT: Only if you join a health insurance plan that covers abortion. In that case, the costs of paying for abortions would be spread over all the enrollees -- no different from how other medical procedures are handled, except a policyholder would have to write a separate check for it.

MYTH: The Democratic-led reform will lead to government health-care rationing.

FACT: The legislation sets up research to compare the effectiveness of treatments, and critics fear bureaucrats will issue justifications for denying patients access to the latest technology. The research findings cannot be used to impose guidelines or recommendations for coverage, or treatment -- or used to deny coverage.

MYTH: The American people have already rejected Obamacare.

FACT: Some polls show a majority opposed, but most surveys find the public evenly divided. Many individual components -- doing away with insurance denials for pre-existing conditions, tax credits to help pay premiums, insurance purchasing pools -- are widely popular.

SOURCE: Associated Press