MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- One of the first big swings Democrats might take with a new majority in Congress next year is lowering the eligibility age for Medicare. Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin led a group of 10 Senate Democrats who introduced the 'Medicare at 50 Act' Tuesday, which would allow people between the ages of 50 and 64 to buy into Medicare.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a progressive group focused on health care, celebrated the proposal as a significant first step toward one day achieving Medicare for All.

"I think because it's not one gigantic health care plan," Robert Kraig, the group's director, told CBS 58 Wednesday. "This is reform that's more in large, digestible chunks."

While people can either sign up or automatically be enrolled in Medicare once they turn 65, the Democrats' bill doesn't automatically put people in the Medicare program once they're 50.

The bill gives people the option of buying into the plan, similar to how people now can select plans on the marketplace established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Dr. Kathryn Wagner, an economics professor at Marquette University who focuses on health care policy, said lawmakers will have to iron out more details. She said one challenge is Medicare provides lower reimbursement rates than other coverage plans.

"Providers are not required to accept all Medicare patients," Wagner noted. "And so, what you might see happening is individuals get access to coverage. but the provider they want to see may not accept Medicare in the same way they did."

The bill calls for the appropriation of $500 million to administer the expanded coverage, but it doesn't specify how those dollars would be allocated. It also creates a new "Medicare Buy In Oversight Board."

"Certainly, we would want to know where the $500 million would be spent," Wagner said. "In terms of, would it help provide for reimbursements to encourage providers to participate?"

House Democrats introduced a similar bill last month, so there would need to be a reconciliation of the two proposals if a version is to reach President Donald Trump's desk.

Baldwin and other Senate Democrats pushed for similar changes in 2019 and 2021. A spokesperson in Baldwin's office said the senator was not available for an interview Wednesday. 

The Wisconsin Hospitals Association, which represents medical providers across the state, did not immediately respond to an interview request.

Kraig said the timing was especially good for a Medicare expansion, given how concerns about affordability have now dominated the last two national election cycles going back 2024.

Beyond that, Republicans approved of ACA health care tax credits expiring under the 'Big Beautiful Bill' Mr. Trump signed into law last year.

"Doing something with Medicare and making it open to more people is something that people understand," Kraig said. "They know what Medicare is, and people would experience and feel in their lives something important -- health care -- being much more accessible and affordable."

Kraig maintained that was one of the most important aspects of the proposal; beyond being good policy in his view, it is also a smart political swing for Democrats to take with their new majority in Congress.

"Let's say it passes, or some version of it passes, and Donald Trump vetoes it," Kraig said. "Then it sets up an election issue for 2028."