Your Money: Sep. 14, 1998

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HEALTH BOUNTY HUNTERS

Senior citizens looking to prop up their pension a bit should keep a close eye on their medical bills. That's because, starting Jan. 1, Medicare beneficiaries can collect up to $1,000 for helping root out instances of the fraud and overbilling that cost the government billions of dollars each year. To blow the whistle on crooked oxygen suppliers or home-health-care providers, just call 800-447-8477.

FARE TREATMENT FOR FLYERS

Ever wonder whether you really have a chance of snagging that plane ticket with your frequent-flyer miles? Congressman Peter DeFazio (D., Ore.) does, and he'll soon introduce a bill requiring airlines to disclose what the odds on a given route actually are. Under the legislation, carriers would also have to provide all possible fares for a trip, not just the ones for a specific time and day. For now, double-check your miles' expiration date; they probably run out sooner than you think.

TRADING IN STOCK TIPS

Investors in the market for some valuable advice during the dog days of the Dow can get it from a new source on the Web. Last week Morgan Stanley became the first major Wall Street house to offer discount online traders (at its discoverbrokerage.com site) same-day access to high-quality research reports on more than 400 companies. For $19.95 a month, subscribers can receive analyst ratings, earnings estimates and overviews on 20 stocks.

--By Daniel Eisenberg