After 20 years of living with HIV, I’m asking my insurer to keep pace with today’s advances in treatment
.FIRST PERSON. ESSAY
Dear UnitedHealthcare,
My name is Morris Singletary, and I am a person living with HIV. June 23, 2026 marked 20 years since the start of my HIV journey.
For the first time in those 20 years, I have UnitedHealthcare as my insurance provider. So, in a way, I guess it is nice to finally meet you.
Over these two decades, I have been fortunate to receive care from some of the best infectious disease healthcare providers. I have also had the privilege of becoming an advocate and activist for people living with HIV. But let me be clear: 100% of the time that I am fighting for others, I am also fighting for myself.
With that said, I would like to talk about medication approvals—specifically, timely access to the medications I need to live and maintain my health, including new HIV treatments that are now available and those that will become available in the future.
At this moment, I am seeking to begin treatment with a new HIV medication. This medication represents another advancement in HIV treatment and works through multiple mechanisms to suppress the virus.
I believe that should be enough to start a conversation—not create another barrier.
What I need from UnitedHealthcare is approval, but I also need transparency. I would like to understand what the approval process looks like, what criteria are being applied to my request, who makes these decisions and why the process takes as long as it does.
Most important, I want to discuss how this process can be expedited when a person living with HIV has a qualified healthcare provider recommending a treatment.
Twenty years ago, HIV treatment looked very different. I have lived through that evolution—from taking 23 pills a day to treatment options that have dramatically changed what living with HIV can look like.
The science has continued to move forward.
I am asking UnitedHealthcare to move forward with it.
I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for appropriate access to medically necessary treatment, a clear explanation of the approval process and a meaningful conversation about how we can prevent unnecessary delays.
I hope UnitedHealthcare will see me not simply as a member requesting authorization, but as a person who has spent 20 years surviving, advocating, educating and helping move the conversation around HIV forward.
I look forward to speaking with someone who can address this request directly and help me understand what needs to happen to move my medication approval forward as quickly as possible.
Thank you.
Morris Singletary
Morris A. Singletary is executive director of The PoZitive2PoSitive Initiative.