Here's the reply I just got from IRIS. Hopefully it will shed a little light on what's going on. Looks like RO are re-opening denied claims and all are being looked at under Nehmer.
After review of your files, we see that your claim is “Ready for Decision” as of May 12, 2010. After the decision is reached, it is reviewed, updated in our system, the updates are reviewed and authorized. Once it is authorized, a letter is sent to you explaining our decision.
Since your claim has to do with newly pronounced presumptions for diseases related to exposure to Agent Orange, we await guidance from Congress to continue processing these claims to completion.
<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">If your claim was started by your regional office and not by you, whether or not you received a letter notifying you of the Nehmer rule, your claim would be processing under this rule.<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">