Improving community health while stemming the rising tide of employee health costs is a high-priority challenge for local governments today. As some of the largest employers in the nation, local governments can serve as role models for other organizations in this area.  ICMA, working with strategic partner Cigna, established the ICMA Health Care Advisory Group in 2006. The group began exploring ways to help local government managers assess and address what has become a major fiscal challenge. Out of this work, local governments can tap into a number of resources and tools that focus on innovative ways of managing employee health and keeping costs down. 

By focusing on helping employees stay healthy and making the right health care choices everybody—employees, local governments, and citizens—wins.