Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Health Savings Account website continues to draw increasing attention, as 71,167 federal employees have now logged onto the site in the weeks since its September debut.

This latest number of individuals who have accessed the Health Savings Account (HSA) website (www.opm.gov/hsa) represents an increase of 26,018 potential enrollees who have logged onto the site since October 6 to learn about new High Deductible Health Plans and accompanying Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) being offered to federal employees next year through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program.

In addition, 9,915 individuals who have accessed the website have requested e-mail updates about the HSA program. The HSA website debuted September 20.

"Despite some suggestions to the contrary, the HSA program continues to show strong interest among federal employees, even before they are rolled out on November 8," said OPM Director Kay Coles James. "Federal employees are educated consumers, and they are viewing the HSA website we have made available to help determine whether a High Deductible Health Plan and HSA serve the medical and financial interests of themselves and their families."

Health Savings Accounts are tax-advantaged products that empower enrollees in High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) to use their medical dollars wisely and save money for future medical needs. In 2005, the FEHB Program is offering 18 HDHPs, through which HSA accounts are available.

President George W. Bush made HSAs available to federal employees with the signing of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003.

In addition, a link from OPM's popular federal jobs website (www.usajobs.gov) contains a link to the HSA site. On average, USAJOBS advertises 17,000 federal job openings each day. James hopes the availability of the new health product will spur highly qualified men and women in a variety of professional, administrative and technical fields to consider federal careers.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.