Almost two months ago, a group of 16 college students joined the ranks at Palmetto GBA as our 2020 summer interns. These young professionals spent their summer working in various areas of the company, including auditing and accounting.

“For the past few weeks I have been working in the Document Control department in Camden processing JM and JJ Medicare cost reports,” said Alexis Cuttino, an audit and reimbursement intern and University of South Carolina-Aiken senior. “My function is to receive and open the cost reports, review them for compliance, and then copy and batch them for the next process of scanning.”

Each Palmetto GBA intern managed very different tasks, and they all gained hands-on experience that will help propel them in their future careers. University of South Carolina rising senior Sheila Walsh worked in a very specific area of Medicare reimbursement.

“Over the past couple weeks my team has been processing End-Stage Renal Disease claims for healthcare providers all over the country,” Walsh said.

Part of the experience Palmetto GBA interns gain is the ability to be flexible. According to University of South Carolina senior Gabrielle Davis, no day is the same.

“Every day the amount of cost reports received changes; therefore, we have to be prepared for whatever that day has in store for us,” said Davis, an audit and reimbursement intern. “Some days we are diligently working to complete all of the reports we receive correctly and meet our three-day turn around goal and other days we are able to catch up on indexing the cost reports we have previously put together and received back from scanning.”

The experience these young professionals have gained this summer is designed to help them in their studies as well as their future careers, from learning new processes and systems to learning tips and tricks to navigating standard software.

“The most valuable lessons I learned were with Microsoft excel,” said Nathan Smith, a Medicare reimbursement intern and University of South Carolina rising senior. Knowing all the shortcuts and how to automate parts of the process are critical to ensure everything gets done in a timely manner since there are so many providers. These skills will definitely help me out in the future no matter where I go!”

College of Charleston rising senior Ryan Ahuja has picked up practical skills as well as technical skills. He has spent the summer filing cost reports and recently began working on completing tentative settlements for Palmetto GBA providers.

“This is teaching me how to use different programs such as STAR, Health Financial Systems, Microsoft Excel, and Auto Audit,” said Ahuja, a Medicare reimbursement intern. “I am also learning how to meet deadlines and be comfortable working in an office setting which will be valuable in the future.”

Of course, this summer has been an unprecedented time for everyone, Palmetto GBA interns included. But they took the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in stride.

“I have learned a lot due to the circumstances of the internship and the coronavirus,” said Jackson Bradle, an audit reimbursement intern and University of South Carolina rising junior. “Adapting to this new norm and with all these changes going on, it has taught me a lot about flexibility and teamwork. Overall, it has been an amazing experience and I will never forget the things I learned here and carry it all with me into my future career.”