Ashish Jha has spent years sounding the alarm about the HospitalReadmissions Reduction Program — an Obamacare policy intended toencourage hospitals to provide better care. But Jha argues the programinstead put patients at risk, and new data suggests he might be right.

Jha, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, joinsPOLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss the readmissions policy and the latestdata. Jha also reflects on the Trump administration’s approach to globalhealth and how his perspective has evolved over the past two years.

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Jha’s February 2017 appearance on POLITICO “Pulse Check,” where hediscussed his career and global health priorities.

A JAMA study in December found a link between the readmissions policyand rising mortality. Harvard researchers this month also concluded thatMedicare has overstated the benefits of its readmissions policy.

Yale’s Harlan Krumholz helped develop the policy and has extensivelydefended it, including in this 2017 comment in JAMA.

Writing in the New York Times, Paula Span reviewed the latest argumentsand data.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar has a unique perspective: Even as he oversees apolicy to cut readmissions, Azar was readmitted to the hospital lastyear while suffering an intestinal infection.