Three California same-sex couples filed a class action lawsuit alleging that federal and California laws violate the U.S. Constitution by excluding same-sex partners of government employees from tax-protected long-term-care insurance.

The plaintiffs claim that under federal law, a state may offer a qualified or tax-protected long-term care plan to public employees and an array of family members, including children, siblings, parents, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, in-laws and opposite-sex spouses.  The plaintiffs claim that only same-sex spouses are excluded from the benefit.

CalPERS has established a long-term care plan that insures an estimated 165,000 individuals.  The plan allows members to enroll their parents, in-laws, siblings and opposite-sex spouses, but same-sex partners are not allowed to apply.

Long-term-care insurance provides coverage when a person needs assistance with basic activities due to chronic illness, age, injury or a severe cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's disease.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of all CalPERS members who are in same-sex marriages and registered domestic partnerships legally recognized by the State of California, and their spouses and partners, who as couples and families are denied access to CalPERS Long-Term Care Program that is available to similarly situated CalPERS members who are in opposite-sex marriages and their spouses. 

The plaintiffs estimate that there are nearly 193,000 members of the putative class.