VICTORIAN patients will suffer because of state government hospital funding cuts, the federal government says.
The Victorian government has accused the federal government of pulling $475 million in funding to the state's hospitals over four years.
But federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said commonwealth funding to Victorian hospitals will rise by more than $900 million over the next four years.
She told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday she had met with a number of Victorian hospital officials about cuts to their budgets because of decisions made by the Victorian government.
"I know that local hospitals in Victoria are finding it very difficult at the moment to make the readjustments that have been forced upon them by the Victorian government," she said.
"I wanted to reassure them that commonwealth funding will continue to grow for them. In every single year there'll be an increase in money from the commonwealth government."
Ms Plibersek said the Victorian government was claiming federal money was cut based on incorrect population data but this was not true.
"The population of Victoria is increasing. The commonwealth accepts it's increasing. It is not increasing as quickly as the Australian Bureau of Statistics predicted it would. That's the difference."
Ms Plibersek said Victoria had an unexpected windfall of about $289 million of extra GST money and Victorian hospitals should demand Health Minister David Davis ask for some of those funds.
She also said the state government had put in a submission four months late to receive millions in commonwealth dollars on offer to build and upgrade hospitals.
"They could have had more than $100 million four months ago if they had their act in gear," Ms Plibersek said.
"It can't even ask for money that the commonwealth government's trying to give it, then it looks around for someone to blame for that incompetence. The sad thing for me is that it's Victorian patients who'll suffer."
Mr Davis disputed Ms Plibersek's claims.
"It's the commonwealth that are cutting health spending," he said.
"It's a cruel cut, it's a nasty cut and it's a cut that's been applied over seven months.
"It's $107 million for Victoria and $475 million over the four-year period."
Mr Davis said the commonwealth treasury's population data used to calculate funding is "dodgy" and it claims population fell by 11,000 when Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows it increased by 75,000.
"We think it's wacky, we think it's cheating, we think it's a way of cutting funding to the states so they can prop up the commonwealth budget. (It's) dodgy brother's city."
Mr Davis said it is a "nonsense" the government's submission for funds for hospital upgrades was four months late.
"We've provided all the submissions that are required and we're awaiting the cheques. She's tardy sending the cheques."
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