Our Team

We are creating an industry renowned company, known for enabling purposeful provider-payor relations and developing future healthcare thought leaders. We see a future where providers and payors partner in making informed decisions for a strengthened healthcare system. 

Our Mission

Give clients an excellent experience and lasting success by providing healthcare business professionals, proactive strategies, and actionable insights, while advancing an admirable culture for employees that attracts, inspires, and unites.

Armando Cardoso, Chief Executive Officer

Armando is an industry expert in fee-for-service and value-based contracting. He has led healthcare teams from multiple perspectives from his time leading national analytics for Ascension Health, to serving as Head of Growth for Clover Health and leading the West/Mid-American provider contracting team for CareCentrix. Armando has also spent time in Finance with Morgan Stanley’s Healthcare Investment Banking team in New York and Summit Partners Healthcare Private Equity team in Boston.

Armando earned a degree in finance and accounting from Georgetown University. He lives in Austin, TX with his wife, son, and two dogs.

Bruce Shepard,

Chief Revenue Officer

Bruce brings over three decades of expertise in executive level healthcare operations and enhancing client experiences. Spanning various health operational roles nationally, Bruce has consistently elevated service standards to optimal outcomes for healthcare providers. Most recently, Bruce developed a nationally recognized value-based care network with providers spanning over 40+ specialties. His collaborative approach and focus on service excellence play a vital part in the success of our partnerships. Bruce also plays a pivotal role in empowering our internal team to strive for excellence in client experience through the development of synergistic partnerships.

Pat Apodaca, Chief Strategy Officer

Pat is a nationally recognized expert in managed care, health economics, value-based care, advanced payment models, medical technologies, and digital health solutions. His career includes more than 25 years of consulting and executive leadership experience developing and implementing strategies to grow revenue and ensure operational effectiveness of healthcare organizations such as Prudential Healthcare, Humana, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Community Health Systems (CHS), and BCBS/Health Care Service Corp (HCSC). 

Pat holds an MBA and BS from NM State University and lives in Austin, TX with his wife and Border-Husky.

Scott Dewey, Chief Managed Care Officer

Scott is a healthcare industry leader with more than 30 years of financial, operational and network development experience, having held senior and executive leadership positions at Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans, Erie County Medical Center, and Community Health Systems. As an executive leader for large health plans, hospitals, and health systems operations in both the public and private sectors, Scott brings a depth of knowledge to the PayrHealth team on a range of healthcare delivery and payment models, from traditional fee-for-service to sophisticated value-based care approaches.

From overseeing start-ups to improving large, industry-leading organizations, Scott has applied his Managed Care expertise to provide strategic direction, management oversight, P&L guidance, and reimbursement optimization on billions of dollars in net revenue.

Melissa Peterson

Senior Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management

Melissa Peterson has been in the healthcare industry since 2005. She started her career as a clinic manager in a fast-paced multi-physician office. As Vice President of RCM Operations, she works hard to ensure PayrHealth has a highly successful, efficient team that produces desired outcomes all while providing great customer service. Her efforts with the staff have resulted in effectively standardizing many of the companies’ policies and procedures still used today. She has held the roles of nearly every position in the billing field: date entry, medical biller, team leader, supervisor, and vice president.

Her knowledge of the front end of the medical clinic, as well as her vast experience in the billing side, make her an extremely valuable member of the team.

Shelly Young

Vice President of Credentialing

Shelly has nearly 25 years of experience in the medical industry and has spent the last 13 years working specifically in credentialing and payor enrollment. She joins us from Supero Healthcare Solutions, where she worked for nearly a decade, starting as a project manager before moving into a director role and eventually Vice President of Operations. Shelly has also played a key part in customizing our credentialing software to meet specific needs for both PayrHealth and our clients.