David Cotton
David B. Cotton (born 1950/1951) is an American billionaire businessman and the former owner, chairman, and CEO of Meridian Health Plans. He earned an MD from Loma Linda University in 1974 and trained as a gynecologist, serving as specialist-in-chief of obstetrics and gynecology at the Detroit Medical Center until 1997. In 1997, he and his wife Shery founded Meridian Health Plans in Detroit. Under their leadership, Meridian grew into the largest private provider of Medicaid benefits in Michigan and Illinois. In May 2018, WellCare Health Plans acquired Meridian for $2.5 billion. Cotton and his wife have four children: three sons—Jon, Sean, and Michael—and a daughter. Jon was promoted to corporate president of Meridian in August 2007, Sean was the chief legal counsel for Meridian, and Michael was president of Meridian Health Plan of Illinois.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:46 (CET).