DS denied because of BMI under 50

Blue Shield (HMO) denied me because they require a BMI of 50 or greater and because there is not a DS surgeon in the network.

Has anyone with a BMI under 50 been able to win an approval for the DS when the insurance company requires a BMI of 50 or greater?

There is good news and bad news:

I have BCBS of Illinois Blue Advantage HMO

The good news:
I was able to get approval for DS even though there is not a DS surgeon in network. First I was sent to a surgeon who does RNY who suggested that DS would be a better option for me. He wrote a letter to my PCP explaining that. Only after that did I get a referral for a consult with an out of netwok surgeon for DS. After jumping through a few more hoops, I just got my referral for surgery  yesterday.

The bad news:
I have a BMI of 52. I imagine that if itwas lower, I would have been stuck with RNY.

Besides the BMI requirement I also have the out of network obstacle.
CONGRATS on your referral!!! It's AWESOME that a RNY surgeon suggested the DS and wrote a recomendation for it! I think that's unheard of.