By Frank Spaulding, AI for Business Today | Saturday, July 18, 2026

Today: the Senate votes to keep AI making Medicare coverage decisions, AI chip stocks keep sliding on Wall Street, and China's president pitches global AI cooperation while quietly getting cheaper. Let's get into it!

Washington and AI

Senate Republicans voted 50 to 46 to block a Democratic effort to end an AI pilot program in Medicare called WISeR, which screens certain medical requests before they're approved. Democrats say it lets AI deny care to seniors. Republicans say it cuts waste and saves money. Either way, AI is officially deciding coverage in traditional Medicare, and Congress just voted to keep it that way.

Meanwhile, at a House hearing called "AI on Main Street," we learned that 82% of small businesses already using AI grew their teams over the past year, pushing back hard on the idea that AI only cuts jobs. But witnesses warned that rules built for big corporations could accidentally lock small businesses out of AI entirely.

Money and Markets

AI chip stocks kept sliding as a global selloff deepened, driven partly by China's Kimi AI model reminding investors that the competition isn't slowing down. Tech giants like Microsoft and Meta are under pressure heading into earnings season, with investors questioning whether massive AI spending is actually paying off.

In response, OpenAI's CFO, Sarah Friar, published a new framework called "useful intelligence per dollar." Instead of just counting tokens, she says businesses should ask: is AI completing work that matters? What does each task actually cost? Is it improving decisions? Can it scale? Good questions to write down if you run a business.

The Global AI Race

China's President Xi Jinping gave a speech saying AI development should be a "symphony," not a solo act, pitching openness and cooperation. Here's the real story behind it: DeepSeek's latest model costs about 87 cents per million output tokens, compared to roughly $30 for OpenAI and $25 for Anthropic. That price collapse is great for China's AI ecosystem and a serious problem for American companies. OpenAI is reportedly considering big price cuts just to keep up. Good news if you've been waiting for AI to get more affordable: that moment is arriving fast.

Healthcare Innovation

Becker's Hospital Review reports that eight major health systems now offer round-the-clock virtual care with AI-powered triage. The latest, Novant Health, launched PatientGPT, which guides patients through symptoms and connects them to the right provider, day or night, instead of just telling everyone to go to the ER.

The Big Wrap-Up

The Senate voted to keep AI deciding Medicare coverage. 82% of small businesses using AI grew their teams. AI chip stocks kept sliding on Wall Street. China's president pitched global AI cooperation while Chinese AI prices keep dropping fast. And hospitals are offering round-the-clock AI health help.

Thank you. This is Frank, your AI for Business Today entrepreneur.