Are you worried about how the proposed health-care reforms before Congress will affect you? You’re not alone. Polls show the nation divided on reform. But Steven Findlay, a senior health policy analyst for Consumers Union, takes a shot at quelling four of the most common fears about health reform in an op-ed for USA Today.

The proposals aren’t perfect, and fear of unintended consequences is understandable, Findlay says. But he argues that four of the most common fears about reform, that it would be a “government takeover” of healthcare; that plans would be more expensive; that it would bust the federal budget; and that it would cut Medicare to the bone, are all overblown. “Make no mistake,” he writes, “failure to pass it carries far greater risks.”

—Kevin McCarthy, associate editor