State and territory health ministers say hospital treatments and services will suffer under a commonwealth proposal to withhold budgeted funds and reduce spending.
Federal health minister Greg Hunt has drafted a directive to the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority to review its public hospital funding method.
It would result in retrospective funds not being paid and reduced services in future, Queensland health minister Cameron Dick said in a joint statement issued after the COAG Health Council meeting in Brisbane on Friday.
Mr Hunt drew condemnation from Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT when he confirmed he would uphold the direction.
"States and Territories have already funded services and boosted frontline staffing taking into consideration Commonwealth funding," the statement said.
"Governments can no longer plan for the future if the Commonwealth keeps changing the rules that had been agreed upon."
Mr Hunt has defended the move.
"The only sensible thing for the Commonwealth to do is to review it," he told AAP.
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