Will President Obama Receive IRB Approval for His Field Experiment that Uses "Deception"?

Research involving human subjects involves benefits and costs.  All universities have created internal review boards (IRB) to minimize the probability that future nerds torture subjects or make phone calls to restaurants claiming that they have received bad service (for details click here or here).   The IRB will sign off on some "deception" studies if they believe that such deception is necessary for testing a hypothesis and that the social benefits outweigh any costs.  The NY Times today announces that the Obama Team will engage in what appears to be a deception field experiment. In a similar spirit as Bertrand and Mullainathan's well known study on discrimination in the labor market, the Obama Team will investigate differential treatment in health markets. I presume they will test whether it is more difficult to schedule an appointment if you plan to pay with an insurance such as Medicaid that offers a low reimbursement rate.

While I understand why this research will take place, it contributes to overall cynicism in society that people are constantly misrepresenting themselves and you never know whether you are having an "authentic" interaction with another person or whether you are being hustled.