# Wyoming prompt-pay law for dental claims

> What is the Wyoming prompt-pay deadline for dental claims, and what interest applies to late payment? Read against the statute text (Wyo. Stat. §26-15-124).

URL: https://dentovio.com/dental-prompt-pay-laws/wyoming

Last verified: 2026-08-30

Dentovio is an independent publisher, not a law firm, insurance department, or government agency. This page was drafted with AI assistance and read against the primary sources linked here, with a per-claim verification record — quote, statutory pinpoint, and the URL actually opened — behind every deadline, rate, and applicability verdict in all fifty-one jurisdictions. It has not been reviewed by a credentialed attorney or dental billing specialist. These pages summarize state prompt-pay statutes as read against the official sources on the date shown, focusing on how each statute treats dental claims. Statutes change and their application turns on plan type, contract status, and claim facts. Educational reference only — not legal advice; confirm current law with the state insurance department or a licensed attorney before acting on a specific claim.

## Direct answer

Under Wyo. Stat. §26-15-124, the Wyoming payment deadline is 45 days (after proofs of loss and supporting evidence). Subsection (c) is a litigation remedy, not a lateness penalty: "if it is determined that the company refuses to pay the full amount of a loss covered by the policy and that the refusal is unreasonable or without cause, any court in which judgment is rendered for a claimant may also award a reasonable sum as an attorney's fee and interest at ten percent (10%) per year." The award presupposes the claimant's own suit on the policy, it is discretionary, and it is conditioned on a finding about the insurer's conduct. Dental applicability: The section covers claims for benefits "under a life, accident or health insurance policy," and dental benefit coverage is generally written as accident and health insurance — but the statute never names dental, and no source read here resolves whether a stand-alone dental plan sits inside. A self-funded private-employer (ERISA) plan is generally beyond this statute's reach and runs on the federal claims-procedure clock instead — but that comes from the courts reading 29 U.S.C. § 1144, not from its text, and it is not categorical: a self-funded governmental or church plan is not an ERISA plan at all, § 1144(b)(6) leaves multiple employer welfare arrangements open to state insurance law, and nothing in § 1144 bars a state from reaching the third-party administrator or the network contract.

## Payment deadlines

- Electronic claims: 45 days (after proofs of loss and supporting evidence)
- Paper claims: 45 days (after proofs of loss and supporting evidence)

"Claims for benefits under a life, accident or health insurance policy shall be rejected or accepted and paid by the insurer or its agent designated to receive the claims within forty-five (45) days after receipt of the proofs of loss and supporting evidence" (§26-15-124(a)). Three express carve-outs suspend or displace that: an accident-and-health claim referred to the Wyoming state medical peer review committee when validity or amount is questioned, life-insurance settlement timing under W.S. 26-16-112(a), and the separate pharmacy clean-claims statute at W.S. 26-52-203. Property and casualty claims get the same 45 days under subsection (b).

## Interest and penalties on late payment

Subsection (c) is a litigation remedy, not a lateness penalty: "if it is determined that the company refuses to pay the full amount of a loss covered by the policy and that the refusal is unreasonable or without cause, any court in which judgment is rendered for a claimant may also award a reasonable sum as an attorney's fee and interest at ten percent (10%) per year." The award presupposes the claimant's own suit on the policy, it is discretionary, and it is conditioned on a finding about the insurer's conduct. Describing Wyoming as a 10 percent late-payment interest state misstates the statute.

## Does it apply to dental? Dental scope unsettled

The section covers claims for benefits "under a life, accident or health insurance policy," and dental benefit coverage is generally written as accident and health insurance — but the statute never names dental, and no source read here resolves whether a stand-alone dental plan sits inside. Treat the 45-day rule as applying to dental benefits paid under an accident and health policy, and treat a stand-alone dental carrier's position as an open question rather than a settled one.

## Self-funded (ERISA) plans

A self-funded private-employer (ERISA) dental plan is generally beyond a state prompt-pay statute's reach: 29 U.S.C. § 1144(b)(2)(B) bars a state from deeming such a plan an insurer, and the courts have read that to keep state insurance regulation off it. The statute itself never uses the words self-funded or prompt pay, and the rule is not categorical — a self-funded governmental or church plan is not an ERISA plan at all, so state law can reach it; § 1144(b)(6) leaves multiple employer welfare arrangements open to state insurance law; and nothing in § 1144 addresses state enforcement against the third-party administrator or the network contract. Where the plan is a self-funded ERISA group health plan, the federal claims-procedure deadlines apply instead: a post-service benefit determination within 30 days (one 15-day extension), at least 180 days to appeal, and an appeal decision within 60 days (or two 30-day levels), under 29 CFR 2560.503-1.

## Also in the statute

- The pharmacy carve-out (W.S. 26-52-203) has its own clean-claim deadlines of 21 days electronic and 30 days paper — those are pharmacy figures and do not apply to dental claims.
- A referral of a questioned accident-and-health claim to the state medical peer review committee suspends the 45-day clock.
- The section is intact and unrepealed in the official Title 26 compilation generated May 8, 2026.

## Sources (statute text)

- [Wyo. Stat. §26-15-124 — Wyoming Statutes Title 26 (Wyoming Legislature compilation, pp. 317–318)](https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title26.pdf)

## Related

- [All state prompt-pay pages](https://dentovio.com/dental-prompt-pay-laws/index.html.md)
- [Dental claim denial codes](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/index.html.md)
- [Payer documentation requirements](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-documentation/index.html.md)