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

Yes. Washington's prompt-pay rules (RCW 48.43.605 and OIC regulations, WAC 284-170) require carriers to pay a high percentage of clean claims within set windows or pay interest, framed as a performance standard.

The key rules

• Carriers must pay or deny 95% of clean claims within 30 days of receipt, and 95% within 60 days, as a performance standard
• Late payment accrues interest, commonly cited around 1% per month on the overdue amount
• The rule is framed around aggregate timeliness, not only single-claim deadlines
• Applies to state-regulated commercial carriers

How to use it

• Track your own book against the 30- and 60-day standards to spot a carrier that's systematically late
• For individual late clean claims, calculate the monthly interest and request it
• Cite RCW 48.43.605 / WAC 284-170 when raising it with the carrier
• Escalate patterns to the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC)

Washington's standard is a percentage-timeliness rule; confirm the current interest rate and the exact thresholds. 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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