A year after a Hollywood onslaught at Comic-Con International, more than one big studio has decided to take a break.

In a new era of Hollywood belt-tightening, many experts say the expense of Comic-Con might not be worth it, especially as production of new projects has slowed. The big superhero film producers, DC Studios and Marvel Studios, have both reduced their output — emphasizing quality over quantity after a few box-office duds — so they also don’t have as much to show off.

There are still big projects taking over Comic-Con’s biggest space, the 6,500-seat Hall H: a new “Predator” movie, several “Star Trek” and “The Walking Dead” shows, DC Studios’ “Peacemaker” show and the new “Tron” movie. Hollywood stars will also be there, like actor Ryan Gosling and “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, for his first-ever appearance at the event.

Besides Hollywood, everything else is bigger. Advertising efforts are through the roof with San Diego Trolley wraps selling out, a near record number of building wraps splashed all over the Gaslamp Quarter, and the studios are spending thousands, if not more, on free activations throughout downtown.

“Comic-Con is cyclical,” said Heidi MacDonald, editor of the comic book news website The Beat, about a slower year. “I don’t think it has anything to do with Comic-Con, it’s just a reflection of the mindset of Hollywood itself.”

She has been a moderator at big panels and seen firsthand how much money and effort goes into it, likely something on the minds of studio executives this year. MacDonald said expenses include airfare for actors, drivers, makeup and hair, audio/visual equipment, hotel stays, and, in what my be surprising to attendees, hours of rehearsal before the panels.

Hollywood production was down 22% in the first quarter compared with last year, said the industry-run nonprofit FilmLA. Global production is in decline, not just in California, but the situation prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a $750 million tax credit in July for TV and films made in the Golden State.

Even if “Game of Thrones” and “The Avengers” don’t show up it doesn’t change the fact that the event sold out instantly. The latest estimates say the four-day event has a $160 million impact on the region. For context, that’s more than the San Diego Chargers brought to the region — $126 million, according to a 2016 city study — in a single year.

Over the past decade, star power at Comic-Con has ebbed and flowed and, in hindsight, sometimes its success or failure might have been a bit overblown. One publication declared the event “in shambles” in 2023 after studios pulled out during writer and actor strikes. One year later, Marvel Studios and others came roaring back into Hall H.

Still, it’s hard not to admit things are a bit slower in comparison to banner years. Both Marvel and Warner Bros. (producers of DC films at the time) took over Hall H on the same day in 2016. Marvel sent fandom into a frenzy with a full slate of films and the biggest names came on stage, such as “Benedict Cumberbatch.” Warner Bros. got even more press, debuting the full cast of the “Justice League” movie, including Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot.

“Marvel (Studios) not being there in a big way is like Coca-Cola deciding not to advertise during the Super Bowl,” said Carl Winston, founding director of the Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at San Diego State University.

While it’s true Marvel’s output has slowed, it is still the biggest thing in comic book movies and TV. It has a major film, “The Fantastic 4: First Steps” coming out during Comic-Con weekend, an animated “Black Panther” show coming out in August, the “Marvel Zombies” show in October and “Wonder Man” show in December. It also has new “Avengers” and “Spider-Man” films opening next year. (It should be noted Marvel is owned by Disney, which is a big presence at the event with other franchises.)

The Hollywood Reporter, citing anonymous sources, said that the unofficial ethos of Marvel Studios is “go big or stay home” and the thinking this year was it didn’t have enough to justify a Hall H appearance. Throughout its more than 20-year history, it has skipped Comic-Con a handful of times, only to come back with a huge splash the next year.

This could be an opportunity for Marvel’s traditional rival, DC, which just rebooted its film universe with “Superman” this month, MacDonald said.

DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, who wrote and directed “Superman,” will be at the convention to promote the second season of the new universe’s “Peacemaker” show. Experts expect it to be a bit of a de facto DC Studios panel and a victory lap for Gunn after the box-office success of “Superman.”

MacDonald said she was shocked there wasn’t a dedicated DC Studios panel after all the “Superman” buzz. Yet she said “Peacemaker” might serve as a sort of under-the-radar panel for the full studio and there could be some surprises.

David Glanzer, chief communications and strategy officer for Comic-Con, said they weren’t sweating a more subdued showing from movie studios.

“Do I think this is a trend? I don’t think so and certainly hope not,” he said.

Big names at San Diego Comic-Con International this year include actor Ryan Gosling, DC Studios co-chief James Gunn and Star Wars creator George Lucas. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) &; (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Comic-Con doesn’t pay studios to show up, so it’s not like they are feeling any sort of financial strain. The nonprofit’s financial stability is stronger after a two rough years during the pandemic when it went online-only. It had $17.3 million in net assets at the end of 2023, said its most-recent tax returns, up from $12.4 million the previous year.

Glanzer said big studio panels get the most attention from entertainment publications but that is very different from the actual convention attendee experience, with thousands of hours of programming. In general, Comic-Con has never been bigger, even if HBO, Apple TV+ and others didn’t show up this year.

Whatever studios decide for inside the convention, it doesn’t change that the outside of Comic-Con is bigger than ever. To promote the new “Alien” show, Disney-owned FX will be building the wreckage of a spaceship in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Hulu (also owned by Disney) will build the world from “King of the Hill” in the Bayfront parking lot, and Peacock is constructing a bumper car ride for its show “Twisted Metal” in the parking lot next to San Diego Children’s Park.

Winston said the uniqueness of Comic-Con is what keeps advertisers and the community so involved in upping the scale. He said it wasn’t necessarily some San Diego planner’s master stroke, just that the event spilling out into downtown — out of necessity because it outgrew the convention center — is one of the most authentic experiences for a fan.

“We’re all tired of Denny’s and want to go to that local coffee shop with a cool vibe,” he said. “I think the people who visit Comic-Con crave authenticity. You can’t get this in a big-box (Las) Vegas hotel. San Diegans, inadvertently or on purpose, created this really cool, authentic experience.”

What to expect

Otman Shouli of Portland dressed as Akaza from the “Demon Slayer” series at Comic-Con in 2024. The anime franchise will take over Hall H for the first time this year. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas will take the Comic-Con stage for the first time on July 27. His panel will likely get some of the most media attention, but fans might want to be cautious about what to expect.

Lucas has said very little about his opinion on new Star Wars shows and movies since selling Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion in 2012. No doubt the fan dream would be for Lucas to spend 10 hours on stage discussing his thoughts on each Disney project, answer burning questions about force-related things and explain his plots for unmade films. Yet that isn’t what’s on the menu.

Lucas’ one-hour panel will be focused on his new museum in Los Angeles, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. He will be joined by director Guillermo del Toro and singer Queen Latifah, so it probably won’t leave much time for him to discuss Star Wars, if at all.

Other big panels over the weekend will be “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone on July 24; the new “Predator: Badlands” movie with star Elle Fanning, as well as the new “Tron” movie on July 25; and “Project Hail Mary” on July 26, a film adaptation of a hit sci-fi book, starring Ryan Gosling, who will be in attendance.

Creators from Asia will also be giving stateside studios a run for their money this year. Anime, Japanese film and television animation, has always had a big presence at Comic-Con but this year, it sure seems more prevalent. Wildly popular anime “Demon Slayer” will be on hand with voice actors and creators to discuss its upcoming feature film, “Infinity Castle.” It’s the first time an anime franchise will take over Hall H in the prime Saturday evening slot, a time typical reserved for heavyweights such as Marvel Studios or HBO.

Glanzer said there was no internal discussion where Comic-Con officials decided that anime is really popular so they better give “Demon Slayer” a Saturday slot. He said so many of the decisions about where to put a property come down to when that studio can show up and if they think it can fill a room. Still, at least someone at Comic-Con must have thought “Demon Slayer” was a big enough deal that it could fill the 6,500-seat Hall H.

“Anyone who thinks ‘Demon Slayer’ can’t fill Hall H is going to be very surprised,” MacDonald said.

She said her publication attended the Anime Expo in Los Angeles in early July and was shocked by its size. Organizers said it broke a record with 410,000 attendees, more than Comic-Con’s anticipated 350,000 attendees.

People clearly put a value on what Comic-Con is offering this year even if entertainment magazines might be less impressed by the lack of movie stars. Comic-Con attendees aren’t supposed to sell badges, especially because the buyer’s name is clearly visible on badges, but that hasn’t stopped them from showing up on ticket websites.

On Thursday on Stubhub, single-day tickets for Saturday, July 26, Comic-Con’s biggest day, were going from $477 to $798. That’s a big hike from the $80 a day ticket cost for most attendees.

Getting a hotel or vacation rental at this point would be expensive and difficult. The cheapest downtown hotel room that was still available as of Thursday was at the San Diego Downtown Lodge on Tenth Avenue across from San Diego City College for $372 a night. The closest available hotel to the Convention Center was the Hard Rock Hotel, with one room left, for $970 a night.

Comic-Con means a lot of work for hotel workers, restaurant staffs and businesses of all shapes in the Gaslamp Quarter. However, Daniel Kuperschmid, CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority, said everyone is ready for next week.

“This is our Super Bowl,” he said.

By the numbers

135,000: The number of San Diego Comic-Con attendees

$160 million: Economic impact for San Diego in 2024

$3.2 million: Estimated taxes for San Diego from hotel and tax revenues

45: The number of trolley cars wrapped with Comic-Con advertisements

2 years: Comic-Con is guaranteed to remain in San Diego through 2027

30: Estimated number of downtown buildings wrapped for Comic-Con

$80: The daily ticket cost for Thursday to Saturday ($40 for seniors, military and 13 years old to 17 years old).

Sources: San Diego Comic-Con, city of San Diego, Metropolitan Transit System, KAP Media 

By KELVIN CHAN, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Smartphones, laptops, headphones and other electronic devices are essential for work and play in our daily lives. But all that time spent typing, scrolling or listening also means our devices gradually accumulate grime that needs to be cleaned off.

You might not give much thought to cleaning your devices but there are reasons you should, says Logitech, which makes keyboards, webcams and other computer peripherals.

“Regular cleaning and proper maintenance not only keeps your gadgets looking pristine, and wins you hygiene points, it also helps them perform better and last longer,” the company says. “In the case of devices like earbuds, the accumulated bacteria and debris may even cause health issues or discomfort.”

Here are some pointers on cleaning your tech:

Getting started

Always check if the manufacturer has any specific guidelines for cleaning.

Assemble some basic equipment and material for cleaning, which should include a soft and lint-free cleaning cloth, like a microfiber cloth; cotton swabs; a soft-bristled brush like a toothbrush, paintbrush or makeup brush; compressed air and isopropyl alcohol.

Isopropyl, or rubbing alcohol, is a non-toxic cleaning solvent that’s antiseptic and antibacterial. It’s popular for cleaning electronics because it doesn’t leave any residue and dries quickly. But you might want to wear gloves to avoid skin irritation. Drip some of it on a cloth instead of pouring it directly onto your device. Also heed some of the more specific warnings below.

Water and mild soap can be useful for cleaning dirty surfaces, but isopropyl alcohol is recommended for cleaning the internals of a device, said Alex Diaz-Kokaisl, senior technical writer at electronics repair company iFixit.

“While there isn’t a hard-and-fast rule for cleaning electronics, we generally use high-concentration isopropyl alcohol (more than 90%) because it evaporates quickly,” he said. “The faster a liquid evaporates, the less likely it is to affect any components that conduct electricity.”

For whatever device you’re cleaning, disconnect or power it off first. Remove any cases, plugs, covers and accessories.

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Computers and laptops

When using a computer, the keyboard and mouse are the parts that are touched most often and therefore need the most frequent cleaning. And all those crevices between a keyboard’s keys are sure to catch crumbs.

To remove any loose debris, iFixit’s official in-house cleaning guide recommends using a can of compressed air. Run the spray back and forth across the keys to blow out any bits. If possible, hold the keyboard upside down so the debris falls out.

If you don’t have compressed air, Logitech suggests using a hair dryer on the cold air setting. Some social media users also recommend a handheld balloon pump.

Next, dampen a cleaning cloth with water and gently wipe down the keyboard and mouse.

Logitech says you can also use rubbing alcohol but recommends you test it first on an inconspicuous spot to make sure it doesn’t cause discoloration or scrub the lettering off the keys.

Anti-bacterial baby wipes can also work on devices like a mouse, Diaz-Kokaisl said.

“There shouldn’t be enough liquid to seep through cracks in the shell, and their residue typically evaporates faster than just using soap and water,” he said.

For laptop screens or external monitors, use a dry microfiber cloth to gently wipe away fingerprint smudges.

If there are more stubborn spots — like food stains or sneezy spatters — dampen the cloth with distilled water or a 50/50 solution of distilled water and vinegar.

Computer maker Lenovo says the “gentle acidity of vinegar can help break down oils and fingerprints.” Avoid using household glass cleaners, which can contain ammonia that could damage the screen. The same goes for paper towels, which can scratch the screen. HP also warns against using rubbing alcohol.

AirPods and earphones

A lot of people listen to music or podcasts through their earbuds, but that also means they’ll need regular cleaning to remove any earwax, natural skin oils or other grungy buildup.

If the earbuds have silicon tips, remove them. Cleaning procedures vary depending on your brand and model. Logitech and Bose recommend using soapy water. But Sony warns against water or wet wipes because they can speed deterioration, and, instead, advises using a dry cloth.

Use a cotton swab to wipe the earbud nozzles clean.

Owners of Apple AirPods need to follow a much more elaborate procedure to clean the mesh. You’ll need a child’s toothbrush, two small cups, a paper towel, distilled water, as well as micellar water — typically used as a facial cleanser.

Pour some micellar water into a cup, dip the toothbrush, brush the AirPod’s various mesh parts, and then blot them dry with the paper. Repeat twice. Then repeat that procedure but using the distilled water to rinse off the micellar water. Finally, let the AirPods dry for at least two hours.

To clean the rest of the AirPod’s body, use a damp cloth. And don’t forget about the charging case. Apple recommends brushing out any debris and then wiping with a dry cloth. If needed, dampen it with isopropyl alcohol.

What about over-the-ear headphones? Bose says you should wipe them down at least once a week, especially after working out, to remove any dirt and bacteria hiding in the nooks and crannies. Remove the pads and use a cloth dampened with soapy water to clean them.

Smartphones

Apple has issued specific instructions on its website for cleaning various iPhone models. Samsung has posted similar guidelines for its Galaxy lineup.

They both advise using a soft, lint-free cloth, such as a lens cleaning cloth, to gently wipe the outside of the phone. Apple warns against using any cleaning products, which could erode the oil-repellent coating that most iPhones come with.

Both companies say it’s OK to use disinfectants such as rubbing alcohol to gently clean the exterior, but avoid bleach or hydrogen peroxide.

Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a new tool that can compute the “biological age” of human organs by processing a single vial of blood.

The tool, unveiled in Nature Medicine Wednesday morning, was developed by a research team spearheaded by Tony Wyss-Coray. Wyss-Coray, a Stanford Medicine professor who has spent almost 15 years fixated on the study of aging, said that the tool could “change our approach to health care.”

“It could help us shift from sick care to health care, and empower people to take care of their own body,” he said.

Scouring a single draw of blood for thousands of proteins, the tool works by first comparing the levels of these proteins with their average levels at a given age. An artificial intelligence algorithm then uses these gaps to derive a “biological age” for each organ.

To test the accuracy of these “biological ages,” the researchers analyzed data from about 45,000 people from the UK Biobank, a database that has collected detailed health information from over half a million British citizens for the past 17 years.

When they analyzed the data, the researchers found a clear trend for all 11 organs they studied; biologically older organs were significantly more likely to develop aging-related diseases than younger ones.

The brain’s biological age, Wyss-Coray said, was “particularly important in determining or predicting how long you’re going to live.”

“If you have a very old brain, those people are going to die the soonest out of all the organs we looked at,” he said.

Those with “extremely aged brains” – the 7% whose brains scored the highest on biological age – were over 12 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease over the next decade than those with “extremely youthful brains” – the 7% whose brains inhabited the other end of the spectrum.

Wyss-Coray’s team also found several factors – smoking, alcohol, poverty, insomnia and processed meat consumption – were directly correlated with biologically aged organs. Poultry consumption, vigorous exercise, and oily fish consumption were among the factors correlated with biologically youthful organs.

With these results, Wyss-Coray’s team set about testing the tool on people in real time. The fifth person they tested was Paul Coletta, an entrepreneur who decided to participate in the test after reading a preliminary Nature paper that had been sent by a friend. The test found that Coletta, then 60, had kidneys that were biologically 68 years old.

“All the typical kidney biomarkers came back as normal, but I followed up with an ultrasound, and it revealed a large renal cyst in my left kidney,” he said. “It found an early signal of decline, and it empowered me to act.”

Coletta was so impressed that he agreed to found Vero Bioscience, a company that now has an exclusive license from Stanford Medicine to commercialize the product, with Wyss-Coray.

Coletta said he planned to make the tool the core of an “at-home AI health clinic.”

“It’s not just a kit where you send us your blood and you get a result,” he said. “We want to support the consumer through the journey of what the intervention should be for that organ.”

The test, Coletta said, would cost $200 once it could be operated at scale.

Malia Fullerton, a professor of bioethics and humanities at the University of Washington, said that while the tool “seems very promising as a global technique,” there were several ethical concerns when it came to its application.

“I could imagine for folks who are interested in being super agers, a desire to get rid of their quickly aging organs and replace them with new ones,” she said. “I see the first negative consequence – particularly if this goes directly to consumer – being putting strains on our organ donation system, which is already under complete duress.”

Wyss-Coray said the risks of an organ transplant currently far outweigh the potential reward of replacing an aged organ with a healthy one, particularly since the test was merely a risk assessment. In any case, he said, it would be challenging to solve the issue completely.

“You can’t prevent people with money from going to a place where they can get the surgery they want,” he said. “But I think it’s a remote possibility.”

Fullerton said there is also a question about how insurers would use the information. While there is imperfect non-discrimination legislation for health and employment insurance, she said, no such legislation exists for life insurance.

“Underwriters trying to say things about one’s likelihood of living a long life or living disease-free surely would make use of such information if it were validated and shown to be broadly predictive,” she said.

Wyss-Coray said it would be important to make sure “that information is private and withheld from your employer or from health insurance.”

The current insurance model, he said, might also change if the test became broadly accepted.

“It is an incentive for insurance to actually know and help you pay for it before you have a heart attack, and then you have an operation that is much, much more expensive than doing preventive care before,” he said.

Fullerton also raised concerns about the use of the UK Biobank, the database Wyss-Coray’s team used. The database, she said, is “notoriously monochromatic,” as subjects skew heavily white.

“I don’t have any reason to believe that organs would age differently in different groups, but it is extremely important that we do our work for biomedical research in diverse cohorts, so that we can ensure the information we are generating is generalizable to all populations of patients,” she said.

Wyss-Coray said he hoped to remedy this issue by conducting studies on Asian and Arab populations in the future. However, he said he is confident in the global applicability of his results.

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“I think overall, we find that basic principles of biology are common to mankind,” he said.

Wyss-Coray and Coletta hope to commercialize the test with Vero Bioscience within the next three years. And as for the future of the technology, Coletta has high hopes.

“I see it as being the gold standard of health biomarkers, used everywhere by every physician and every consumer, so that you’re constantly staying one step ahead of disease,” he said. “Consumers being empowered to take their health into their own hands.”

Millions of Americans are now at risk of losing health care coverage or food assistance under the GOP’s recently passed mega-budget, which includes sweeping cuts and new restrictions on critical social safety net programs.

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The GOP’s $3.3 trillion budget, dubbed the “big, beautiful bill,” includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and approximately $300 billion for President Donald Trump’s defense and immigration enforcement priorities. To partly offset the steep cost, the bill targets reductions across the board — but hits health and food assistance programs hardest.

Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) subsidies face deep cuts and work requirements. Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies will also be reduced. The burden of these cuts is expected to fall most heavily on existing and eligible recipients, as well as on state health programs, food banks and rural hospitals that depend on federal support to deliver services to vulnerable populations.

The timing of certain changes to social safety net programs isn’t entirely clear — the bill didn’t attach a specific implementation date for SNAP work requirements, for example, but it could be as early as this year. For Medicaid requirements, states have until the end of 2026 to begin enforcing. And the biggest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP won’t begin until 2028.

“We’re not all going to wake up one morning and find millions more people uninsured,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health care policy for KFF, a health care policy and research organization, during a press call on July 9. He added that the impact of changes to Medicaid and the ACA will roll out slowly over the next decade.

With program restrictions and cuts looming, here are the people and programs who will feel the most pain.

 

People who rely on Medicaid for health care coverage

More than 78 million people are enrolled in Medicaid in 2025, according to Medicaid.gov, about 23% of the U.S. population. They include eligible low-income adults, pregnant women, children, older adults and people with disabilities.

The bill’s changes to Medicaid will unfold in two phases.

First, states must enact work requirements by the end of 2026, according to the bill. To stay enrolled in Medicaid, recipients must demonstrate they are working, caring for small children, attending school or work training at least 80 hours per month.

And yet, KFF finds that most people under the age of 65 who receive Medicaid are already working full-time or part-time or attending school. So it’s not lack of work or schooling that would push Medicaid enrollees off their health care coverage, it’s the complex red tape that the new requirements introduce.

That is, at least, how it worked when Arkansas tried to do it.

Arkansas briefly implemented 80-hour-per-month Medicaid work requirements for enrollees ages 30 to 49. The restriction was in place from June 2018 to March 2019, when a federal court struck it down. During that time, 18,000 people — about 25% of the covered population — lost health care coverage, according to a September 2020 study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The losses were largely due to failures in reporting or documentation, not ineligibility.

Moreover, the policy had no effect on employment in the 18 months following the end of the program. But there were significant health and financial consequences for those who lost coverage, compared to those who remained on Medicaid: Nearly 50% reported serious medical debt problems, while 56% delayed health care and 64% delayed taking medications, both due to cost.

At the highest risk for losing coverage are those with chronic illness or disabilities who cannot obtain exemptions; those with mental health conditions; and those whose work hours fluctuate from one month to the next, such as seasonal or gig workers. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that 5.2 million adults will lose Medicaid due to work requirement restrictions.

The second rollout of Medicaid changes won’t begin until 2028, but those are the deepest cuts. Provisions include new cost-sharing charges between states and low-income working enrollees for certain health care services. The changes also require states to end non-Medicaid health care coverage for immigrants.

A June 24 assessment by the Congressional Budget Office projects that as a result of all the changes to Medicaid and the ACA (more on that below), approximately 12 million will lose health care coverage.

People who have health coverage through ACA marketplaces

Changes to ACA requirements and subsidies could result in 8.2 million people losing health care coverage through ACA marketplaces, according to CBO estimates.

The first set of changes are stricter requirements: Those who access health care through the ACA marketplace face new annual update conditions for income and immigration status. They’ll also face a shorter window to enroll each year.

The most significant impact is what’s missing from the bill: An extension of the enhanced premium tax credits for ACA marketplace coverage, put in place during the pandemic, which expire at the end of the year. Premium tax credits are a federal subsidy that helps cover monthly premium costs for those who purchase health insurance through the ACA marketplace.

If enhanced tax credits expire, out-of-pocket premiums in the marketplace could increase by more than 75% and up to 90% in rural areas, according to KFF CEO Drew Altman, during the press call. He also said that enrollment could drop as much as 50% in rural areas.

Levitt added that the measures in the bill amount to “what is effectively a partial repeal of the ACA,” which passed 15 years ago. Federal data shows an estimated 45 million people are enrolled in health coverage through the ACA — about 13% of the U.S. population.

State health programs and rural hospitals

Federal cuts to Medicaid and the ACA will shift financial responsibilities onto states, which is likely to add financial strain to state health programs and hospitals — particularly community health centers and rural hospitals.

For decades, states have used provider taxes to help fund Medicaid and state-directed payments. The bill limits how states can do so.

Robin Rudowitz, vice president at KFF and director of the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured, said during the press call that if states are limited in how they can use provider taxes, they’ll have to come up with other ways to replace that money like increased taxes, cuts to other program spending or further changes to their Medicaid programs.

The cuts would also mean hospitals will receive lower payments, which means hospitals may have to scale back certain services or close altogether. Hospitals with low margins, like rural hospitals, are likely to face the biggest obstacles.

KFF estimates that 12 states with large rural populations and expanded Medicaid could see federal spending on their programs decline by $5 billion or more over 10 years. Kentucky stands to lose $12 billion — the highest among all states.

Kentucky, for example, relies heavily on provider taxes. Kentucky Hospital Association, which represents over 100 hospitals in the state, says the bill’s cuts puts 20,000 people at risk of losing their jobs. A study from University of North Carolina found that 35 rural hospitals in Kentucky could be in danger of closing due to the provisions in the bill.

There is one source of hope for rural hospitals in the bill: States may apply to access a $50 billion fund to support rural hospitals, to be distributed for five years beginning in 2027. But the fund won’t likely offset the cuts. Levitt said “Delayed relief, even if sizable, won’t arrive fast enough to prevent closures.”

People who need food assistance

As with Medicaid, low-income Americans who are eligible for SNAP will face new work requirements as soon as this year and the effects of funding cuts later in 2028. The total reduction in SNAP spending in the bill: $295 billion over the next decade.

More than 42 million people receive SNAP benefits, according to the USDA — about 12% of the U.S. population.

It’s worth noting that there are already work requirements built into the SNAP program — able-bodied people without dependents, ages 18 to 49, must work at least 20 hours per week or 80 hours per month. But the bill raises that upper age limit to 55, which means millions more people will be impacted. It also eliminates or tightens exemption criteria for states to waive work requirements for certain individuals.

The issues that SNAP work requirements present remain, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP): increased administrative burdens, more people losing assistance and no improvements in long-term employment outcomes.

While food banks don’t directly rely on SNAP to deliver its services, a loss of SNAP funds could put added pressure on already-strained programs. Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, estimates the bill’s provisions could reduce anywhere from 6 to 9 billion meals annually.

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Anna Helhoski writes for NerdWallet. Email: anna@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @AnnaHelhoski.

The article Without a Net: Who Will Feel the Pain From Budget Cuts? originally appeared on NerdWallet.