When people stand up to speak at one of my listening sessions in Wisconsin, there is a good chance they want to talk about healthcare reform. That’s because, year after year, this is one of the top issues raised at the town hall meetings I hold in each of my state’s 72 counties.

And Wisconsinites aren’t coming to praise the current system. They come to express their frustration, and to tell heart-wrenching stories about a system that has failed them, or their family, or someone they love.

In our country, we have more than 45 million uninsured, including 8 million children, and countless others are underinsured. Despite these facts, and despite the failures in the healthcare system that have affected so many American families, Congress has been in a political stalemate on healthcare reform for decades. Our inability to come to an agreement on this issue leaves hardworking American families in a continual struggle to provide themselves and their family members with medical care.

I recently had a woman call my office who works for a small business that does not offer health insurance. She could not find individual coverage due to a preexisting condition. So when a medical emergency forced her to spend eight days in the hospital, she had to pay the cost herself.

She now needs major surgery, but doesn’t know how she will pay for it on her income. Like many working Americans, she doesn’t have health insurance, and because of her medical conditions she can’t find or afford insurance in the individual market.

Numbers released by the Commonwealth Foundation last week reported that 41 percent of moderate- to low-income workers did not have insurance at some point during 2005. This is up from 28 percent in 2002.

The skyrocketing costs of healthcare are hurting workers, businesses and families, and frustrating the medical community. It’s time to do something about it.

When it comes to healthcare reform, Congress doesn’t seem to know where to start, but the American people do. The way to start is by agreeing finally to debate this issue. Once we’ve made that commitment, we can begin making the tough decisions, hammering out the details and, at long last, getting something done.

We need to break the political gridlock in Congress. In order to help advance this discussion, I joined Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina last year in introducing a bill that would force Congress to take up the issue of healthcare reform.

The bill does not prejudge which particular healthcare reform measures should be debated; it simply requires Congress to act, and consider legislation ensuring coverage for at least 95 percent of Americans. This bill will help ensure that discussion of this issue is not moved to the back burner.

Recently, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) signed a bill into law trying to bring universal healthcare coverage to his state. That bill may not be perfect, but I applaud Massachusetts lawmakers and Gov. Romney for their efforts. Other states are also considering innovative ideas, which is why I support an approach to healthcare reform that will build on the great strides being made in the states.

We should be encouraging more states to take creative and innovative approaches to providing universal healthcare, so that some of these good ideas can become viable initiatives. I favor an approach that allows states the flexibility to address the problem of uninsurance in their own way, provided they meet certain requirements set by the federal government. This collaborative approach would help to insure everyone and lower the actual cost of healthcare.

With initiatives from the federal government, states would have the freedom to choose from a variety of options in order to provide coverage for everyone in their state, and these ideas could come from across the political spectrum. Ideas could include tax credits for businesses and individuals, expansion of federal programs, or a program modeling the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

We need to solve the healthcare problems facing our country. Our current system is unsustainable, and I believe that this innovative and collaborative approach could appeal to state and federal governments. Above all, we need to jump-start this debate and change a failed healthcare system that is letting down so many Americans.

Feingold is a member of the Budget, Foreign Relations, Judiciary and Select Intelligence committees.