Statement of Vice Admiral Adam M. Robinson, USN, MC, Surgeon General of the Navy Before the Subcommittee on Defense of the Senate Appropriations Committee."Navy Medicine is at a particularly critical time in history as the Military Health System has come under increased scrutiny. Resource constraints are real, along with the increasing pressure to operate more efficiently while compromising neither mission nor health care quality. The budget for the Defense Health Program contains fiscal limits that continue to be a challenge. The demands for wounded warrior care continue to steadily increase due to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, Navy Medicine must meet the requirement to maintain a peacetime mission of family and retiree health care, as well as provide Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief as needed around the globe. The current rate of medical cost growth is adding increased demands on the defense budget and internal efficiencies are insufficient to stem the rising healthcare costs. Benefit adjustments should be considered to ensure the future of our high quality medical system and to sustain it for years to come."