What’s a monopolistic state? (Why won’t my state allow private insurance?)

There are 4 out of 50 states that are known as the monopolistic states in the workers’ comp world: Washington, Wyoming, Ohio, and North Dakota. 

They run their own workers’ comp funds, and all businesses in the monopolistic states get coverage directly from those funds. 

The reason they’re called “monopolistic” is because they have an effective monopoly on workers’ comp, meaning no private insurance companies are allowed to sell workers’ comp policies there.