During an interview with Politico, Donald Trump snapped at a reporter for reminding him that the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies will have an immediate effect on American families.

“Don’t be dramatic,” he told her, more than once.

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Reporter Dasha Burns pressed Trump on whether he would try to strike a deal to extend ACA subsidies before they expire in two weeks, which will cause healthcare premiums to skyrocket for many Americans.

Trump said he didn’t know yet and continued to ramble about not wanting insurance companies to get any money and just wanting to give money straight to the American people so they could “buy their own health care.”

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He did not, however, say what this would look like in practice or provide a timeline for this plan. As such, Burns reminded him that Congress hasn’t put a plan like Trump’s on the floor yet. She said extending the ACA subsidies is the only thing that could prevent soaring prices in the here and now.

“Right now, people are buying their holiday presents,” Burns said. “They’re planning for –”

At that, Trump interrupted her. “Don’t be dramatic,” he groaned. “Don’t be dramatic.”

“No, no,” Burns pushed. “They’re planning their budgets for next year, Mr. President.”

Trump continued to ramble about his vague plan. “I’m giving them money,” he said. “I want to give the money to the people to buy their own health care. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

He said again he wants to “let the people to go out and buy their own health care.”

“It works like magic,” he said.

Burns kept emphasizing that in the short term, premiums would still go up, and Trump simply replied that he would give money to the people.

The subsidies were the reason behind the recent 43-day-long federal government shutdown, the longest in American history. Democrats would not approve a budget bill until Republicans agreed to renew the subsidies. Republicans refused to even negotiate.

Ultimately, enough Democrats voted alongside Republicans on a deal to end the shutdown that did not include an extension of the health care subsidies they had been fighting for.

Without the subsidies, some people’s health care premiums are set to increase by thousands of dollars per person, according to a KFF analysis, with older Americans who are nearing retirement being disproportionately affected. This will likely result in people dropping insurance coverage, increasing health care costs for everyone (as the pool of people paying into health care shrinks). Others will face severe hardship if they have a health issue without insurance to cover it.

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