One of the dilemmas facing hospitals is where to send homeless patients when they’re too sick to return to the streets but not sick enough to remain hospitalized. Hospitalization can cost $1,000 or more a night, and the costs could go higher if patients don’t have time to recuperate properly and end up returning to the emergency room.

As state lawmakers and advocates for the poor look for cost savings to restore some vestige of the General Assistance Medical Care program for impoverished adults without dependent children, setting up medical respite care for the homeless is among the ground-level solutions bubbling up from a variety of stakeholders.

On Tuesday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty met with DFL legislative leaders about the upcoming session, and health-care reform was among the topics, his spokesman said.