I see this as a part of the RW long-term planning

to eliminate Medicare entirely. Starve the Beast. When fewer and fewer doctors/hospitals allow Medicare patients, the RW can declare Medicare an utter failure and eliminate the program. THAT's the long term goal. To get rid of Medicare. They have not been successful in privatizing it, in voucherizing it, or defunding it outright, so the back-door plan is to force it's failure.

As medieval as it sounds, I also think the long-term plan is to cull the herd -- allow attrition -- just as Alan Grayson said, if you get sick, die quick.