Many new laws took effect on New Year’s Day in Maryland, including several governing health care.| LIST: New laws taking effect in Maryland in 2026 (PDF)From cancer screenings to insurance coverage mandates and a new requirement for the professionals who cut your hair, many of the new laws focus on preventative and proactive measures.Cosmetologists who apply for a license in 2026 in Maryland will now have to undergo domestic violence training.”I think it’s important,” said Dina Rodriguez-Tillman, a stylist and business owner at Hello Bonita Hair Salon in Pigtown. “I think that anyone could be in this situation, and it’s important to have safe spaces, especially in a world where women are feeling less and less safe.” The new law applies to barbers and cosmetologists applying for new licenses and renewals.”I’m all for it because, being a Baltimore resident, you are almost automatically engulfed in being an activist and wanting to do for your community,” Rodriguez-Tillman told WBAL-TV 11 News. “Training for domestic violence is important, and so many women sit in our chair and it is a safe space.” Rodriguez-Tillman told WBAL-TV 11 News that some clients consider businesses like hers a safe space.”From my experience with people, when they’re suffering from domestic violence, they’re very isolated. So, this is a space where they can sit with somebody, depending on what they’re getting — for an hour, two hours, three hours — and be able to share sometimes things that they wouldn’t necessarily share,” Rodriguez-Tillman told WBAL-TV 11 News.And, it’s no secret that firefighters face dangers on the job, including exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. Under the James Malone Act, all counties with self-insured health plans must provide free cancer screenings to firefighters. The counties must also collect this health data.Maryland is also expanding access to hearing aids by requiring health plans to cover all devices deemed medically necessary.Starting Thursday, Marylanders will pay in-network costs when referred to out-of-network specialists when there are no in-network providers available. And, insurance companies are now blocked from requiring prior authorization to transfer a child to a pediatric hospital.Another law now bans time limits on anesthesia delivery to a patient, so insurers that agree to cover it for a procedure must cover all of it for the entire procedure.
Many new laws took effect on New Year’s Day in Maryland, including several governing health care.
| LIST: New laws taking effect in Maryland in 2026 (PDF)
From cancer screenings to insurance coverage mandates and a new requirement for the professionals who cut your hair, many of the new laws focus on preventative and proactive measures.
Cosmetologists who apply for a license in 2026 in Maryland will now have to undergo domestic violence training.
“I think it’s important,” said Dina Rodriguez-Tillman, a stylist and business owner at Hello Bonita Hair Salon in Pigtown. “I think that anyone could be in this situation, and it’s important to have safe spaces, especially in a world where women are feeling less and less safe.”
The new law applies to barbers and cosmetologists applying for new licenses and renewals.
“I’m all for it because, being a Baltimore resident, you are almost automatically engulfed in being an activist and wanting to do for your community,” Rodriguez-Tillman told WBAL-TV 11 News. “Training for domestic violence is important, and so many women sit in our chair and it is a safe space.”
Rodriguez-Tillman told WBAL-TV 11 News that some clients consider businesses like hers a safe space.
“From my experience with people, when they’re suffering from domestic violence, they’re very isolated. So, this is a space where they can sit with somebody, depending on what they’re getting — for an hour, two hours, three hours — and be able to share sometimes things that they wouldn’t necessarily share,” Rodriguez-Tillman told WBAL-TV 11 News.
And, it’s no secret that firefighters face dangers on the job, including exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. Under the James Malone Act, all counties with self-insured health plans must provide free cancer screenings to firefighters. The counties must also collect this health data.
Maryland is also expanding access to hearing aids by requiring health plans to cover all devices deemed medically necessary.
Starting Thursday, Marylanders will pay in-network costs when referred to out-of-network specialists when there are no in-network providers available. And, insurance companies are now blocked from requiring prior authorization to transfer a child to a pediatric hospital.
Another law now bans time limits on anesthesia delivery to a patient, so insurers that agree to cover it for a procedure must cover all of it for the entire procedure.
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