The bill (HR-1) to create a prescription drug benefit in Medicare does not guarantee that the Federal Employees Health Benefits program will maintain current prescription drug coverage for federal retirees. The prospects of adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare has raised concerns that employer-sponsored health insurance plans, including the FEHB, might limit or exclude coverage for retirees on the theory that Medicare would be providing a full suite of benefits-even though the Medicare drug benefit would not take full effect until 2006 and even then would not be as comprehensive as the FEHB drug benefit is today. To address that concern, the House in July passed a bill (HR-2631)-a counterpart (S-1369) is pending in the Senate-to assure that federal retirees would continue to get coverage on the same terms as active employees. The final version of the Medicare bill does not include that provision, however, although it does include the government in a subsidy arrangement designed to encourage employers to keep retirees covered under their health insurance plans.