Though he never used the "F" word — fraud –the  Health and Human Services Department Inspector General fessed up to finding 2.9 million inconsistencies on federal marketplace insurance applications, most of them involving citizenship and income entries that could not be verified or didn't match federal records. Of that figure, 2.6 million remain unresolved.

The  report was prepared and delivered to Congress as a concession to Republicans to end the federal shutdown in 2013.

“Inconsistencies do not necessarily indicate that an applicant provided inaccurate information … or is receiving financial assistance through insurance affordability programs inappropriately,” the report said.

Some 40 percent of the errors involve citizenship issues while a third are concerned with income.