While the health sector welcomes extra funding for elective surgeries, it's raising red flags about spending on other areas of health.

In recent weeks allegations have been made of hidden lists, as well as long-running claims that patients in need of surgery are being deliberately manipulated away from care because of ministry targets.

As a response the Government is committing $98 million in this year's budget to increasing surgeries and improving treatments. $30 million is being allocated specifically to orthopaedic surgery.

Medical Association chairman Dr Mark Peterson welcomes extra funding, but is concerned other areas like primary care are continuing to miss out.

"Inflation within the health sector is much higher than in other sectors," he says. "We also know that health need is increasing."

"Successive governments have concentrated on elective surgery possibly to the detriment of other services."

Surgeon Dr Philip Bagshaw of Canterbury Charity Trust Hospital - which picks up patients that have fallen off the health system - believes it's not good enough.

"From our experience we would say that there are many, many thousands of people that can't get the surgery they need and adding another four thousand on to it is such a small number."

"In fact, if I was the minister I would keep quiet about it."

But the Health Minister Jonathan Coleman is defending the way DHBs manage their surgical waiting lists, saying the boards are funded to do a certain number of surgeries and they're all doing more.

"It's not actually getting higher, so DHBs always set their thresholds and they've moved around under successive governments."

"That's happening all around the country, there's a big uplift. Growing population, more demand, the answer is actually to do more surgery and that's what we're committed to, that's what we're funding."

Deputy Labour Party leader Annette King argues the pre-Budget announcement should be seen for what it is - a drop in the bucket in an effort to appease thousands of concerned New Zealanders.

Almost half the funding was announced last year and King is dismissive of the new allocation.

King says it works out to an average of $833,000 dollars a year for each of the 20 District Health Boards.