The American Osteopathic Association will no longer require osteopathic doctors to be members of the association to maintain their board certifications—a policy change made to settle a lawsuit alleging AOA had engaged in antitrust practices.

The Chicago-based AOA was sued in 2016 by four members for its policy of requiring osteopathic doctors to be association members or risk losing their board certifications, according to The National Law Review. AOA is only one of two organizations in the U.S. that provide board certification, which is needed for physicians who specialize in osteopathic medicine.

A New Jersey district court recently denied AOA's request to dismiss the lawsuit. Then on Friday, the association announced it had reached a settlement, saying the suit had been a drain on its resources.

"Settling this lawsuit allows us to focus on the impactful work that is only done by the AOA, such as practice rights protection, legal assistance and federal advocacy for DOs (doctor of osteopathic medicine)," AOA President William Mayo said.

In addition to eliminating the membership requirement, AOA agreed to lower its annual membership dues by $90, suspend board certification maintenance fees for three years, recognize online continuing medical education as equivalent to live education for meeting membership requirements, and offer AOA members two free online continuing education courses for three years.

Annual regular membership are currently $683, according to AOA's website. Membership dues accounted for about 40 percent of the $55 million in revenue the association reported in 2016, tax records show.

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