Here are this week’s top five most-clicked stories from MHA’s News Roundup newsletter.
11 Symptoms Neurologists Say Never to Ignore
TIME, by Angela Haupt
A new federal government initiative requiring Maryland to overhaul its health care regulations kicked in at the start of the new year, prompting changes that experts say could cost businesses and patients millions of dollars in higher insurance premiums.
Got The Flu? Doctors Offer What to Know About Antivirals to Fight It.
The Washington Post, by Kathleen Felton
Some symptoms may seem small or easy to brush off, but they can be important warning signs. Unusual neurological symptoms—like voice changes, muscle twitches, or vision issues—that shouldn’t be ignored. Dr. Alexandru Olaru, a neurologist at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, stresses that paying attention to these changes and seeking care early can make a real difference.
House Speaker Peña-Melnyk Begins First Session Tackling Budget Deficit, Health Care Affordability
Maryland Matters, by Willian J. Ford
Maryland’s newly appointed House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk kicked off the first session of the 2026 General Assembly facing major challenges, including closing a projected $1.5 billion budget deficit, while also addressing health care affordability and immigration policy.
Flu Season Overwhelms DMV Hospitals as Patient Numbers Top Last Year
WUSA, by Randi Hildreth
Across the DMV, emergency rooms and hospitals are under serious strain right now. Dr. Merissa Weiss, medical director for the emergency medicine department at The University of Maryland Medical Center Capital Region Health, says hospitals are having to hold severely ill patients in the emergency department as they wait for beds to open in the hospital. Adventist HealthCare added that its hospitals are seeing an increase in Emergency Department patients with flu and other respiratory illnesses, and its volumes are typical for this time of year.
What’s It Like at a Maryland Urgent Care During a Surge in Flu? Snot So Good.
The Baltimore Banner, by Meredith Cohn
When an urgent care in Pasadena opened its doors at 8 a.m., three people were waiting. Flu tests lined a counter in the back…The University of Maryland Medical System, which operates about a dozen centers, including the one in Pasadena, has been steering people to urgent care and doctors’ offices — and away from hospital emergency rooms, which are overwhelmed by the sickest patients.
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