Legal Advisory Committee
The Legal Advisory Board serves in an advisory capacity to the national office of AAPC, the AAPC National Advisory Board, and the AAPC Chapter Association. Members occasionally author articles on compliance and legal issues associated with medical coding for AAPC the Magazine, and speak on legal issues at AAPC events.
Timothy P. Blanchard
JD, MHA, FHFMA — Blanchard Manning LLP
Prior to forming his own practice, Blanchard Manning LLP, in 2009, Mr. Blanchard practiced for 20 years with a leading international law firm. He handles health care regulatory and compliance issues, including coverage, billing, reimbursement, overpayment issues, fraud and abuse, and HIPAA privacy. He is a Fellow of the American Health Lawyers Association and a past chair of its Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues. He has served on the AAPC's Legal Advisory Committee since its inception.
Michael D. Miscoe
JD, CPC, CASCC, CUC, CCPC, CPCO, CPMA, CEMA, AAPC Fellow – Miscoe Health Law, LLC, Central City, PA
Mr. Miscoe has over 30 years of experience in healthcare coding and over 25 years as a forensic coding/compliance expert and consultant. He has provided forensic analysis and testimony as an expert witness on a wide range of coding and compliance issues in civil and criminal cases on behalf of providers and payers. Mr. Miscoe's law practice concentrates on representation of healthcare providers involved in post-payment disputes with commercial and government payers. He has an extensive national speaking background and has been published in numerous publications on a variety of coding, compliance and health law topics. He is the President of the AAPC National Advisory Board, is a member of the AAPC Legal Advisory Board and is the Chair of the AAPC Ethics Committee.
Christopher A. Parrella, Esq.
JD, CHC, CPC, CPCO — Parrella Health Law, Boston, MA
Christopher A. Parrella is a healthcare defense and compliance attorney at Parrella Health Law in Boston. With close to 30 years experience in healthcare law, Chris provides legal support in areas including regulatory compliance, audits, healthcare fraud defense and reimbursement disputes. Chris's proactive defense approach helps clients navigate complex healthcare regulations, ensuring compliant operations while defending against government investigations, audits and overpayment demands.
Robert A. Pelaia, Esq.
CPC, CPCO — Deputy General Counsel - University of South Florida
Mr. Pelaia provides a wide range of legal support services for the University of South Florida, with exclusive legal responsibility for USF Health and its related not-for-profit corporate support entities. Robert is certified as a Health Care Law Specialist by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education. He is certified by AAPC as a professional coder (CPC) and a professional compliance officer (CPCO). Robert is a member of AAPC's Legal Advisory Board, a past member of AAPC's National Advisory Board (NAB) from 2009-2011, and he also served on AAPC's Chapter Association Board of Directors (AAPCCA) from 2007-2009. He is a member of the Tampa, Florida local chapter.
Stacy Harper
JD, MHSA, CPC — Spencer Fane LLP
Stacy Harper counsels healthcare providers, health plans, and other vendors serving the healthcare community on regulatory compliance, reimbursement, and data privacy and security issues. She is a member of her firm's healthcare team and chairs the firm's data privacy and cybersecurity practice. Stacy obtained her juris doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Law and master's degree in Health Service Administration from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. She is admitted to the bar in Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota.