The government has refused to bail out the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust which is facing a �45m debt by the end of the financial year.
An extra �65m is being given to Cornwall's health services as part of a �500bn package for the South West.
But Health Minister Andy Burnham said the cash would not be used to bail out the trust.
The government says the money will be spent on reducing waiting times for operations to 18 weeks by next year.
Mr Burnham said: "The big drive is towards the 18-week target, which is a huge goal to achieve.
"If we get there it will mean the local NHS Trust doing a lot more work as well as the independent sector.
"That benefits all players in the health economy."
He said the trust had to help itself out of its debt.
"I can't have a situation where, if people have overspent, we just throw money at those problems.
"Like in life and our own homes, we have to stand on our own two feet and we can only spend money that is coming in through the door.
"The trust has done some fantastic work this year at reducing the debt.
"I want to encourage them to do that on a long-term sustainable basis."
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I can't have a situation where, if people have overspent, we just throw money at those problems
