The comment, by Clutha Health First chief executive officer Ray Anton and Central Otago Health Services (COHSL) chairman Russell McGeorge, was sparked by a proposal made to Oamaru-based Waitaki District Health Services.
Health service providers were told earlier this year the SDHB planned funding cuts of 5% because of its dire financial situation.
There was strong opposition by those running rural hospitals and from their rural communities.
Despite those objections, most health companies signed contracts which reduced their funding.
Waitaki is the last of five rural companies with an unsigned 2015-16 contract and on Monday, its chairman, George Berry, said the SDHB had offered a contract which did not contain the 5% funding cut.
The Waitaki board accepted the two-year offer but with ''qualifications,'' Mr Berry told the Otago Daily Times.
Mr Anton said Clutha Health First had already signed a contract with SDHB that meant it lost about $200,000 of funding - a cut of about 3.2%.
The contract came into effect in July.
COHSL, which runs Dunstan Hospital, also agreed to a year-long contract which resulted in about $200,000 less in funding - a 2% cut.
It reached agreement in June.
Mr Anton said Clutha Health First had indicated to the SDHB it expected there would be ''consistency'' in the way the board managed its contracts.
''While we've accepted the reductions, we were expecting they would be managing that consistently across the sector,'' he said.
Mr McGeorge echoed those comments.
''We agreed to a funding cut in dollar terms and provided relief in other ways to meet their 5% cut requirement,'' he said.
''I don't know the details of whatever offer Waitaki has been made but will be disappointed if consistency has not been maintained by the SDHB across all the rural hospitals.''
Mr McGeorge said the health company had ''squeezed everything we could squeeze'' to meet the target and ensure current service levels were continued.
''Our main issue is - as we told the SDHB - our population is growing, so we're trying to cater for more people with less health funding.''
A series of meetings held in Alexandra, Cromwell and Wanaka in May to highlight the funding cuts issue attracted about 1700 people.
Until its next round of contract negotiations, Dunstan staff and management were ''just getting on with things,'' Mr McGeorge said.
Mr Anton said he would like confirmation from the SDHB the full amount of services Clutha Health was contracted for would not change in the future. The matter would be discussed at the board meeting tonight.
''They [the SDHB] need to negotiate in good faith and do what they said they were going to do,'' he said.
Mr Anton said Clutha Health also wanted a more secure contract that promised a funding increase consistent with the cost of living rather than having to review it every year.
''The problem is our costs go up faster than our income.''
- Samuel White & Lynda van Kempen
