Administration overstated 2014 Obamacare enrollment number

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The 2014 Obamacare enrollment numbers that the Obama administration touted to Congress in October included up to 400,000 dental plans, in a break with past practice that inflated the 7.3 million total.

House Oversight Committee Republicans are circulating an analysis of enrollment data that shows CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner included the plans in the count of Americans who she said had Obamacare coverage as of Aug. 15.

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The committee had requested documentation to back up Tavenner's claim and found that nearly 400,000 of the plans were for stand-alone dental coverage, not medical.

In earlier, more detailed disclosures, CMS had counted dental plans separately and did not include them as part of total.

Bloomberg News first reported the news, which was supported by an independent analysis of the enrollment data by HealthPocket Inc.

CMS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More recently, CMS said that 7.1 million people had Obamacare coverage as of Oct. 15. It's not clear whether that figure included dental plans as well.