BuoyFi Mission
Our Mission is to empower all Americans to free themselves from burdensome medical debt while building healthier financial futures. We do this by:
Helping you understand how much medical debt you can afford to pay
Recommending personalized plans to help you take the first step forward
Providing tools to prepare you for both today and tomorrow’s medical and other expenses
Why We Started BuoyFi
41% of working-age Americans are struggling with medical debt. Many have no idea how they’ll ever pay it off.
As former collections executives, health care technologists and debt counselors, we’ve seen the impact rising medical debt has on patients and care providers.
We helped millions of patients take the first steps toward resolving their debt and securing more than $65 million in debt reduction.
But we wanted to do more.
Debt forgiveness organizations and crowd-funding play an important role in addressing medical debt. Yet neither offer scalable solutions for the majority of Americans, or for care providers that rely heavily on patient funding to keep their doors and hospital beds open.
Patients struggling with medical debt want to pay what they can afford for the quality care they receive. But they often need help taking the first step forward when the medical bills are more than they can pay.
We set out to help patients understand what they can afford, build a practical plan to rise above medical debt and save for future medical expenses.
We created BuoyFi.
Leadership Team
Steve is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience in consumer financial services and product development. Prior to launching BuoyFi, he recently served as Chief Innovation Officer at Capio. Throughout his career, Steve has founded and led two leading national patient financing companies and numerous other successful fintech companies. He’s been recognized throughout his career for his entrepreneurship and was named Oregon Service Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997 by the Portland Business Journal. In the community, Steve has provided leadership and served in multiple capacities for many well-known non-profit organizations.
On a personal note, Steve and his wife Angie appreciate spending time with their family, which includes nine adult children, ten grandchildren, and two ragdoll cats. They also enjoy cooking and entertaining family and friends and going out for a round of golf whenever possible.
I’m excited to lead such a talented BuoyFi team with decades of successful experience in healthcare product development, operations, patient services, technology, and most importantly possess the passion to help free millions of people from the heavy burden of medical debt.
Christiane oversees BuoyFi’s product strategy and is responsible for developing new and unique tools to make healthcare more affordable for patients. She has two decades of experience in the finance and health and wellness industries, previously serving as WebMD’s Director of Product Management, where she directed their market research, strategy, planning, and go-to-market activities. Christiane also spent ten years at CarePayment in a variety of product management and account management roles.
In her free time, Christiane likes to spend time with her husband and kids exploring places near and far. An avid traveler, Christiane has been to 27 countries and 5 continents (she has it on her bucket list to make it to all 7!)
BuoyFi’s product team will continue introducing new tools and services to help people make informed, productive decisions that will help them to resolve existing debts and strengthen their personal finances.
Peter leads BuoyFi client services, which is responsible for ensuring the best possible user experience. He joins BuoyFi from NSN Revenue Resources, where he served as Executive Vice President of Business Development and Client Success leading the Business Development, Marketing, Implementation, and Information Technology Teams. Peter also spent 16 years as solutions architect, revenue cycle strategist, and director of client services with ClearBalance Healthcare, delivering consumer-friendly patient financing programs to hospitals and healthcare systems nationwide.
When not working with BuoyFi partners and users, Peter enjoys sailing, cheering on Chicago’s sports teams, enjoying Chicago’s dining experiences, and supporting the Anti-Cruelty Society.
People struggling to pay their medical bills need support and guidance, and they rely on our tools and team members to help them understand their options and make informed decisions on what to do next.
SaraBeth is responsible for the technology direction of BuoyFi’s mobile applications, technical roadmap, and overseeing the engineering team. She brings 15 years of experience in the health tech and fintech industries. SaraBeth previously served as Vice President of Technology at CarePayment, where she was responsible for the Data, Implementation & Analytics team, data strategy, analytics roadmap, and technical architect for integration initiatives.
The BuoyFi engineering team is committed to building an app with a seamless user experience. Allowing the user to focus on what is important, and understanding their options for managing their medical debt.
Catie joined BuoyFi from Salucro Healthcare Solutions where she served as the Sr. Manager of Client Services, overseeing the US/IN Support team(s) and Client Services team. She worked across departments and stakeholders to ensure that the training developed by the organization meets the needs of each function and is aligned with the goals of the business to improve organizational performance.
Catie also spent 9.5 years at Professional Service Bureau under the MARS Early Out Division, as the Quality and Team Development Manager where she oversaw all daily operational functions and maintained accounts for first-party, insurance follow-up, Support, and Quality Assurance service lines.
Catie and her husband have two beautiful daughters. They love to spend time with their family fishing in the many MN lakes, golfing, and so much more.
When taking a difficult journey, having experts with you can provide an easier path. Users of the BuoyFi app have access to the Concierge Support Team, staffed with trained medical debt professionals with years of experience helping patients pay what they can afford. We are here to help!
Connie is a seasoned product manager with almost a decade of experience defining and developing consumer-facing products in the health tech space. Prior to joining BuoyFi as the Product Director, she served as a Senior Lead Product Manager at WebMD where she gained extensive experience creating products that educate and encourage users to take control of their health and financial well-being.
She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her family and her adorable pug, Curly. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the city by bike, discovering hidden gems and local treasures, and when the snow starts falling, Connie can be found on the slopes. She is also a huge fan of buffets, where she can indulge in all her favorite foods.
BuoyFi’s product team is focused on continuously improving our tools and building new products that help our members gain confidence and feel empowered to take control of their financial health.
Chasity is at the helm of strategic initiatives and healthcare business services. She happily joins BuoyFi from a revenue cycle management company where she was director of RCM operations and consulting. Chasity has 16 years of experience in the healthcare administration industry working with hospitals and large-scale healthcare billing corporations. She has a passion for helping people understand and overcome medical debt.
Chasity is a supermom of 3 girls who spends her free time traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Medical debt has more ambiguity than people know, and BuoyFi is an amazingly helpful tool that can explore different options in overcoming these bills.
Ivan is a seasoned designer and is responsible for improving the usability of the BuoyFi app through design, collaboration, strategy, and research. He’s also involved in overseeing the quality and design output of projects, scoping out processes, building and maintaining the BuoyFi design ecosystem. He has over 12 years of working in various aspects of the Metaverse, tech, enterprise, real estate, and e-commerce industry. Previously he’s worked at Soul Machines, Sprinklr, and The Good creating user-centric experiences for mobile and web. He’s had the pleasure of working with brands such as Facebook, Apple, World Health Organization, YouTube, Twitter, Nike, and HSBC Bank.
Ivan enjoys spending time with his family doing activities such as hiking, biking, swimming, and eating at their favorite ramen and sushi restaurants.
Great design can empower people to feel confident when using the BuoyFi app to manage their medical bills. I’m excited to continually improve and increase the standard of user experience through design.
Orbelina leads BuoyFi Concierge Services, which is responsible for ensuring the best possible consumer experience. She joins BuoyFi from a fintech company where she served as Senior Manager of Operations and Branch Relationships leading the Closing and Concierge Services Teams. Orbelina brings 20-plus years of experience managing large-scale operations in the fintech arena. She has built and managed teams and created operational processes such as reporting, SOPs, and SLAs. She believes in and cultivates an inclusive company culture that promotes work-life balance.
In her spare time, Orbelina enjoys traveling, dancing, cooking, spending time with her 3-year-old pup Migo and trying different types of food with her daughter.
The BuoyFi Concierge Services team is committed to ensuring an excellent customer service experience by proactively assisting users with questions and technical support using empathy and industry expertise.
Tayler is a skillful social media content creator and marketing professional. Prior to BuoyFi, she spent time as the consumer communications and marketing manager at Capio. Tayler also has experience in influencer marketing, event planning, and leadership. She attended the University of Oregon and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and business.
When not with her two fluffy cats Tao and Tini, Tayler enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, listening to live music, and exploring new restaurants.
BuoyFi’s marketing team is dedicated to keeping consumers informed with valuable information that can help them on their journey of resolving medical debt.
