two years. In 1943, the AOA founded the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), an organization that accredits hospitals and other health care facilities. In 1957, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare recognized the AOA as the official accrediting body for osteopathic medical education. In 1967, the National Commission on Accrediting (currently the Council for Higher Education Accreditation) recognized the AOA as the official accrediting agency for all aspects of osteopathic medical education. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (currently the Department of Health and Human Services) recognized the AOA as the official accrediting body for osteopathic hospitals under Medicare in 1966. In October 2015, the AOA sold the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program to the Accreditation Association for Hospitals/Health Systems. In 2016, a group of D.O. physicians filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the AOA (Talone et al. v. The American Osteopathic Association), contesting the requirement for physicians to purchase AOA membership as a condition of AOA board certification. In 2018, the AOA and physicians reached a $35 million settlement agreement. As a part of the settlement, the AOA agreed to end its policy of requiring physicians to purchase AOA membership in order to receive AOA board certification. The settlement was finalized in 2019. In 2021, the AOA filed a lawsuit against the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The lawsuit was directed at the ABIM policy requiring program directors to be board certified by the ABIM in order for graduates of that residency to be eligible for ABIM board certification. The AOA supports the annual "D.O. Day on Capitol Hill," where more than 1,000 osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) and osteopathic medical students go to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of congress to discuss current issues in health care, such as access to care challenges. The event serves as an opportunity for legislators to learn more about health care and osteopathic medicine and for medical students to become more familiar with the political process. Osteopathic post-graduate education The AOA also provides funding for post-graduate osteopathic medical residencies. In the 2017 match, more than 2,200 osteopathic physicians matched into these residency programs. In February, 2014, the AOA and AACOM decided to join with ACGME to form a unified post-graduate accreditation system. From July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2020, AOA-accredited training programs will transition to ACGME recognition and accreditation. There will continue to be osteopathic-focused training programs under the ACGME