Vic, federal government argue over funds

Victoria has been accused of trying to take millions of dollars in federal hospital funding from other states and territories in its feud with the Commonwealth over $73 million in health cuts.

Federal health minister Sussan Ley says the Victorian government's complaints about the cuts are an attempt to cover up the state's "sneaky" and unfair funding arrangements.

"This is a serious and deliberate attempt by the Victorian Labor government to not only deceive the Commonwealth to the tune of $73 million, but also their state and territory counterparts," Ms Ley said in a statement on Tuesday.

The cuts to Victoria's allocations in the National Health Funding Pool were announced in February.

This prompted Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy to accuse the Commonwealth of using accounting tricks to claw back money.

But the federal government says it's the Victorian government, and not the national funding pool, that used an accounting trick to "artificially" inflate the state's growth in hospital activity to claim more funding.

Ms Hennessy says the federal government is making excuses for its budget woes.