Pharmacy Trends and Risk: Navigating Complexity in Workers’ Comp

Dennis Sponer is a recognized leader in workers' compensation, healthcare technology, and entrepreneurship. He co-founded ScripNet, one of the industry's first workers' compensation-focused Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), growing it into a nationally recognized company before its acquisition by Optum Healthcare Solutions in 2012, where he later served as Executive Vice President. Most recently, he founded HSARx, a consumer-focused PBM, which was acquired in 2023.

An attorney licensed in California and Nevada, Dennis holds a J.D. from Brigham Young University, an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of San Diego, and a TRIUM Global MBA from NYU Stern, the London School of Economics, and HEC Paris. Through SRX Advisors, he advises investors, startups, and organizations across healthcare, workers' compensation, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies.

Heidi Hanna is an Assistant Vice President at Auto-Owners Insurance, where she leads workers' compensation, personal injury protection, medical payments, Medicare, and life claims. She also oversees the company's medical team, including nursing, pharmacy, and physician professionals, and serves as a key contributor to customer-facing technology initiatives and associate health benefit programs. Prior to joining Auto-Owners in 2013, Heidi built a diverse healthcare career spanning specialty pharmacy clinical services and business development, consulting, academia, retail pharmacy, and HIV care. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree with the Highest Distinction from Ferris State University and completed a residency at Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy.

Heidi is Board Certified in ambulatory care, a Certified Pain Educator, and holds the Associate in Claims (AIC) and Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) designations. She currently Chairs the Mid-Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross. Combining clinical expertise with claims leadership, Heidi brings a unique perspective on pharmacy, insurance, and the evolving challenges faces workers’ compensation programs.

With over 30 years of experience in insurance, Raji Chadarevian currently leads a team of research actuaries and experts to provide Thought Leadership in workers compensation. Prior to this, he led the Medical Regulations and Informatics team at NCCI, making him NCCI’s primary actuarial expert on matters relating to medical data and workers compensation health informatics. Prior to 2012, he was responsible for several state rate filings in the western region. Chadarevian is the principal author of “How Is Medical Inflation Measured? And Why Should I Care?” and “Killer Pain Relief: Opioids in Workers Compensation.” He is the principal author of “Navigating Medical Severity and Claim Outcomes” which he presented at NCCI’s Annual Insights Symposium earlier in 2026.

Dr. Robert Hall was named Corporate Medical Director in May 2010. In this role, Dr. Hall works with Optum clinical teams to establish evidence-based managed care best practices. He advises customers and employees on how to address complex claims and resolve challenging workers’ compensation-related issues, and regularly guides policymakers and executive leaders on critical industry topics.

Dr. Hall has been practicing medicine for more than 17 years. In addition to his work with Optum, he is a practicing physician and provides electrodiagnostic and rehabilitation consultations focused on establishing evidence-based diagnoses, prognosis, and treatment recommendations for the patients he serves in private practice, private and state-run hospitals, and outpatient clinics. His areas of expertise include traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, amputation, pain management, musculoskeletal medicine, and stroke rehabilitation.

Dr. Hall is a respected thought leader within the workers’ compensation industry and since 2009 has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the Best Doctors in America® database on several occasions.

Tron Emptage was named Chief Clinical Officer at Optum in January 2016. In this role, Tron oversees Optum clinical programs to help clients gain more control over medical costs and achieve better outcomes for injured workers.

Tron leverages 30+ years of health care, workers’ compensation, and auto no-fault experience in developing and managing key program components, such as medication plans and formularies, utilization reviews, physician outreach, clinical intervention, and pharmacist and nursing support. Tron has used his hospital, retail pharmacy, home infusion, and medical network experiences to develop many innovative clinical initiatives, including our patent-pending data analytics model, our clinical oversight programs, and our urine drug testing program — all critical to helping Optum transform the way workers’ compensation and auto no-fault payers manage claims and contain costs through utilization.

Tron is a well-known clinical resource and thought leader in the managed care community as both an author and educator. His papers and presentations cover relevant topics and emerging issues ranging from prescription drug misuse to new treatment options and pharmacy management strategies.