Joint bank accounts are usually done as a means of DIY Estate Planning. The adult child places themselves on the parents account as a technique to avoid Probate. Unfortunately, from a Medicaid standpoint this invalidates the gifting prohibition because the Medicaid applicant
“gifted” half of the account to the adult child. This would need to be undone, meaning the adult child removed from the account, and then a true Medicaid strategy employed for the cash in the account.
