Republicans have found $124 billion in wasteful Medicare spending that enriches insurance companies at the expense of seniors and taxpayers. The only question is if they’ll take the savings or concede the insurance lobby’s claim that all efforts to rein in waste, fraud and abuse are “Medicare cuts.”

This choice will define Republican credibility on government waste for years to come. The opportunity is concrete and bipartisan.

The No UPCODE Act, introduced by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., would directly attack Medicare overbilling. It ensures that patients are diagnosed by doctors, not insurance companies looking to maximize payments.

Here’s how the fraud works: Medicare pays insurers more when patients appear sicker on paper. Insurers respond by adding diagno

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