This is the rare shutdown fight in which the policy, politics, and leverage all align. Democrats should make health care costs their non-negotiable demand. They should refuse to participate in a bipartisan effort to fund the government unless the GOP solves the health care cost crisis they alone caused. That means, at a minimum, Republicans agree to cancel Medicaid cuts, permanently extend the ACA cost protections, and protect veterans’ care. If Republicans want to continue in their efforts to yank health care away from millions of Americans and massively increase costs, they should be forced to fund the government on their own through a partisan budget reconciliation process.