We’re fortunate to exist in a world where it’s possible to live for a long time with HIV. Medical science has made astounding progress since the 1980s, when a positive diagnosis was considered a death sentence.
Queer activism helped bring about the shifts in policy and attitude that made this success possible. But our job isn’t over yet.
HIV isn’t spread evenly across the United States. In urban areas with high poverty, it’s as prevalent as it is in low-income countries with generalized HIV epidemics, like Ethiopia and Burundi.
This means that almost 40% of Americans with HIV get their health coverage through Medicaid, the government insurance plan for low-income people.