Colorado prompt pay law: deadlines, interest, and how to use it

Yes. Colorado's prompt-pay law (C.R.S. §10-16-106.5) requires carriers to pay or deny clean claims within a set window or pay interest, and Colorado's penalty is comparatively steep.

The key rules

• Clean electronic claims are generally due within 30 days; paper claims within 45 days of receipt
• Late payment accrues statutory interest at a comparatively high rate (Colorado's penalty is commonly cited around 20% per annum, confirm the current figure)
• The carrier must pay, deny, or settle the clean claim within the window
• Applies to state-regulated commercial carriers

How to use it

• Apply the electronic vs paper distinction to use the correct 30- or 45-day window
• Because the rate is high, calculate interest carefully on late clean claims and request it
• Cite C.R.S. §10-16-106.5 when raising it with the carrier
• Escalate patterns to the Colorado Division of Insurance

Colorado's penalty rate is comparatively steep; confirm the current figure and day-counts before quoting it. Prompt-pay rules reach state-regulated (fully insured) commercial plans, not ERISA self-funded employer plans, which are a large share of commercial volume. Medicare and Medicaid pay under their own separate prompt-payment rules. Confirm the current payment window, interest rate, and penalty against the statute or your state insurance department before citing a figure in an appeal, since rates are reset by legislation and by annual DOI rate-setting.

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