Given the fact that SRS is a one chance surgery (not including minor revisions), it's important to get it pretty much right the first time. Experience is the absolute most important thing a surgeon can have. The big names in SRS have done procedures numbering well above 1,000 in many cases. Some have far more than that.
Dr. Garcia would not be an acceptable choice for me, regardless of whether it was covered by insurance or not. His UCSF profile shows that he's a urologist (nothing wrong with that, but his practice is hardly even vaguely focused on SRS), and he doesn't even really mention the fact that he performs SRS on his bio. I could find no examples of his work, no reviews, etc. Too much of an unknown entity for my liking, and when top class SRS can be paid for out of pocket for around $20,000, it's just not worth the risk. For half that price, you can get pretty good SRS in Thailand all-in from an experienced surgeon (although not a top name).
The suspicious side of me wonders if this is a deliberate attempt by the insurance company to pick the most unattractive option for SRS, just so it can claim that it complies with whatever laws and regulations are forcing it to cover SRS without actually having to pay for many surgeries.
Having said that, if it's a choice between him and no SRS, then I'd certainly think twice. For some, they could never afford "name brand" SRS and they have to take whatever is offered. But I'd rather save and have proven SRS from a proven doc than spin the surgery roulette wheel and hope it lands on "nice vagina" instead of "wtf!"
