Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said his centre-right coalition government could collapse tomorrow if it fails to reach agreement on healthcare reforms that envisage spending cuts of up to €3bn.
The reforms are a key part of the government's plan to balance the public finances over the long term in Finland, a eurozone member country now mired in recession.
"It is very likely that I will go to meet the president tomorrow," Mr Sipila told a news conference, meaning the resignation of the three-party government.
Mr Sipila added that, in the absence of a compromise deal on health reform, he would prefer not to call snap elections but to form a new government from the current parliament.
Mr Sipila and his Centre Party, which has rural roots, wants to divide the country into 18 regions where government bodies would decide on healthcare services.
But the National Coalition Party, led by Finance Minister Alexander Stubb, favours a model of just five regions, arguing that a smaller number would ensure a more equal share of resources between the regions.
It also says a larger number would threaten financial savings.
The third coalition partner, the nationalist Finns Party, has accepted Mr Sipila's proposal.
