Emerald Isle Immigration Center

Featuring the New York Ceili Band.  All ages and skill levels are welcome.  Rambling House is donating all proceeds to the EIIC. Come and enjoy a great time for a great cause!

When: Friday, Feb. 19 at 7:30
Where: 4292 Katonah Ave., Woodlawn, NY
Cost: $20 per person

Tyrone Productions and RTE are seeking members of the Irish Diaspora to recite portions of the 1916 Proclamation from various locales throughout the world.

The recitations — preferably made before an iconic backdrop —  will feature in a broadcast Easter Monday night on RTE 1.

In addition to several counties in Ireland, they hope to have readings from Sydney/Melbourne; New York/Washington; London; Abu Dhabi/Dubai; Buenos Aires; Cairo; Paris; Moscow; Tokyo; Beijing/Shanghai and Rome.

The reading can involve one person, a family, first or second generation, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, a classroom, a football team, cultural groups, social groups, etc. All you need to do is to record yourself or your group on your phone, digital camera, or other device.  The deadlines for entries is February 12.  Please email requests for complete guidelines to ireland@tyroneproductions.ie 

The Irish Consulate is urging people to get involved and to let them know if they are planning to submit a reading.

Many New Yorkers received help paying for their health plan through the New York State of Health! In fact, nearly 75% of people who enrolled in a health plan through the Marketplace were eligible for financial assistance to lower their monthly premium costs. If you or someone in your household purchased a platinum, gold, silver or bronze plan through the Marketplace and received Advanced Premium Tax Credits during the year you need to report these credits on your federal income tax return. To help you do this New York State of Health will mail you an important tax document called Form 1095-A. You also can access your form in your secure inbox in your New York State of Health account. Form 1095-A contains information about the qualified health plan(s) you and members of your household were enrolled in, the month(s) you were enrolled and the amount of Advanced Premium Tax Credit everyone in your household used to lower their monthly premium during the year. The amount of Advanced Premium Tax Credit was based on your estimated income at the time you applied for coverage through New York State of Health. This estimate may be different than your actual income when you file your federal tax return. You will use the information on your form 1095-A to complete Form 8962, which will tell you if you need to adjust the amount of tax credits upward or downward. Even if you did not apply for, or did not use tax credits to lower your premium during the year, you may still be eligible to claim a tax credit on your federal tax return. Form 1095-A includes the information you will need to claim this credit.

If you have questions about the information contained in form 1095-A, visit the New York State of Health website: https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/ or call New York State of Health at 1–855-355-5777.

If you need help completing Form 8962 or have other questions about tax filing, consult with your tax preparer or visit the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/

Each year, NY State of Health has an Open Enrollment period where anybody who qualifies to use the Marketplace can enroll. When Open Enrollment ends, people can no longer enroll in a Qualified Health Plan and must wait until the next Open Enrollment period.

But, did you know that there are exceptions? It’s true: if you have experienced one of the following life events, you might be able to enroll during Special Enrollment period.

Qualifying life events may include: getting married or losing coverage due to divorce, having a baby or adopting a child, losing employer-sponsored coverage such as when you lose or change your job, or a child aging out of their parent’s health insurance.

A qualifying life event may also include becoming a naturalized citizen, permanently moving to New York or moving outside of your health plan service area where new qualified health plans become available to you.

You may also qualify for the Special Enrollment Period if you’re already enrolled in a qualified health plan through the Marketplace and become duly eligible or ineligible for tax credits or a different amount of cost sharing reductions.

However, some events do not qualify for the Special Enrollment Period. Events that don’t qualify include: voluntarily dropping your health coverage, losing coverage because you didn’t pay your premium, or having a medical emergency.

You have 60 days from the day of the qualifying life event to complete your application and choose your qualified health plan.

Act quickly!

There are additional circumstances that may qualify you for Special Enrollment Period.

If you think you qualify or if you have a question about whether you qualify,  visit the NY State of Health website: https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/ or contact us at 718.478.5502 ext. 103.